The Adventures of RES: A Trip Through Reality
by Jonquil Gemstone
Summary: 3 girls. One. Massive. Adventure. A collaborative self-insert with me, Venus Luxia, and AlphonseLover13! Join us as we struggle to get home, not knowing exactly how or why an encounter with a new kid led to this. Adventure, mystery, and fandoms abound in this tale. Buckle up-this is no ordinary story! Rated T because of paranoia and the fact that violence is in some fandoms.
1. When Angels Give Warning

**Hello, everyone! A friend of mine has been having serious issues updating, which—as one of her readers—bothered me, so I decided to help her out by doing a collab with her and our other co-author** **. Consider it a…fanfiction boot camp of sorts…**

 **We do not own anything except our OCs. Now, please enjoy our joint effort ;D!**

When Angels Give Warning

Mariana Talon woke up to a loud and rather obnoxious pounding on her bedroom door.

"Yes?" she moaned tiredly, knowing the answer already. She just wanted her mother to know she was awake.

The knocking resumed. Apparently, she was too quiet. Mariana repeated her response, louder this time, but still maintaining an element of cheer in her voice.

"Wakey, wakey!" her mother called in, her voice slightly irritating so early in the morning. Sighing, Mariana slowly lifted her feet and twisted out of bed, dragging two layers of sheets along with her.

"Alright, I'm awake!" she called, stretching her arms out in front of herself and flexing her long, dainty fingers as if she was a cat. Standing tall, she opened her smaller walk-in closet and decided on wearing her tan, alligator-print blouse with long sleeves and ruffles along the zipper and V-neck. Pulling out an appropriate tank top to wear beneath it, she put on the outfit, complete with dark jeans and knee-high tobacco brown boots. Wincing at the time, she grabbed a gold-colored ring with an elliptical moonstone and a pair of simple gold-and-amber earrings. Bending to see her reflection in the bone white mirror above her black desk, the seventeen-year-old realized a necklace would be overkill, since she could plainly see her brown scapular and silver medal. Walking at her usual, brisk pace, Mariana hurriedly brushed her teeth, combed her long brown locks, and washed her face with water.

Rushing back to her lavender bedroom, the girl scooped up her book bag and purse, stuffing her outdated cell phone into the latter. Stopping at the door, she frowned and turned back. For some reason, it felt like someone was telling her to grab something else…heading to her tan nightstand, she pulled her aquamarine rosary bracelet onto her wrist, taking a moment to admire the ornate yet simple design of the cross on it. Remembering reality, she took bigger steps out of her room, locking the door before trotting down the steps to the front parlor.

Remembering all too easily the past misadventures she's had with stairs, Mariana hovered her fingers over the black wooden banister, held up by thin white rods on the brown uppermost surfaces of the steps. After eating fresh pancakes and drinking her coffee, the teen gathered all she needed and followed her older brother to the family car. When she kissed her mother goodbye that morning, it felt different—as if she may never see her again. Brushing the strange feeling aside, she couldn't stop her eyes from betraying the internal drama she felt.

"Well, look at her now," her mother spoke to Jerome, the college student of the house, "she's acting like she's off to war!"

Laughing along with her family, she and her brother left. While Jerome made his usual conversation about life, politics, and the universe, Mariana turned her face out the window, knowing her face would betray the inexplicable nervousness she felt.

Her brown eyes widened as she noticed some crazy underclassman in the parking lot. She found him crazy—if not downright shifty—because he just popped out from behind someone's car! He was not tall, at least not in comparison to her, and he seemed a little bit nervous. When the boy noticed her, he suddenly decided to nonchalantly sit on a bench and pretended to be lost in thought. This could either get really interesting, or just plain weird. At least it was something to set this day apart, though.

Arriving at school, her heart was a little saddened, like this was the last time she would see her brother's warm brown eyes. Feeling her guardian angel reassuring her, her jaw set as if she was really entering a battle, and not the daily kind where you have to keep reminding yourself it's even existent.

Mariana Talon walked into the building in her usual manner, with her gaze directed down and forwards, eyes wandering around occasionally to observe whatever happened to be on the walls at the time. Seeing her reflection in a trophy case, she noticed with alarm a flyer attached to her backpack with an unwound paper clip. Stopping in her tracks, the teenager pulled it off, paper clip and all. It read:

MEET ME

At the back of the school

At 6:00 (a.m. or p.m.

Your choice)

GET AN AUTOGRAPH

FROM THE MOST FAMOUS

PERSON IN THE WORLD

Be there ;)

 _Well, that's not creepy at all._ Mariana mentally expressed how weirded out she was. She felt like deadpanning aloud and asking if the culprit meant Justin Bieber, but decided instead to look behind the corner in front of her. "You do realize I know you're right there, don't you?"

"You must be a psychic of some sort, right?" the underclassman's eyes were wide with hope, and Mariana wondered if this was sarcasm or not. "Well, are you?"

"No," she replied, deciding to play along and reply seriously, "although someone did think I was a vampire, once." The boy's face crumpled, like he had just seen an angel shatter to pieces.

" _Are_ you a vampire, at least?"

"No. I'm just a simple human being." She chuckled amicably. This poor kid probably watched too much Netflix or something. She smiled at him. "My name is Mariana, by the way. Mariana Talon."

"I'm Jason." He shrugged apologetically. "Sorry if I don't shake your hand—germaphobia, y'know. So, when's your lunch period?"

"Oh, that's perfectly alright." She didn't know how badly this guy might need a friend, and after all, what harm can come from simply being kind? Being mean never does any good. Even so, she started walking away, feeling like it would be best to avoid further conversation. "I have to go now—class is about to start."

"Wait!" Jason called out to her, and having heard him, she had no choice but to turn around and answer with her typical "yes". Jason stepped towards her, brow creased. "You never answered my question."

"What was the question?"

"When is your lunch period?"

"I have Lunch 9…" Mariana answered, hesitantly.

'Me, too!" Jason's smile was so bright, she determined being a good friend to him was worth any sort of trouble if it made him that happy. "'Mind if I sit with you?"

"Oh! Um, sounds great!" She broadened her own smile, choosing inclusiveness as her path. "Then you can meet some of my friends."

"PERFECT!" his voice was so loud, the girl twitched in surprise. Catching himself, "I mean, cool…awesome. I'll see you then."

"And _I_ 'll see you, too." Mariana walked away, her stomach in knots with an overwhelming sense of worry. She arrived at her first class in the nick of time, heavy in thought but still participating as usual. Fidgeting with her rosary bracelet, she felt much better, and soon forgot all about her lunchtime worries…

 **This chapter was written mainly by me: up next will be Venus Luxia's and AlphonseLover13's ;D. Let us all know what you think of it, and feel free to check out their profiles, too!**


	2. No Free Meals

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey guys, it is AlphonseLover13 here! So, me and Luxia are going to be writing together, so here how this is going to work. I am writing the first half of the chapter and Venus is going to be writing the second half. I am really excited to be able to work with such amazing authors in collab, and I really hope that I can improve my writing skills as well! Enjoy! We own nothing but our OCs in this story.**

2\. No Free Meals

Alexandra Blackwell walked into her sister's room in an attempt to wake her up for the upcoming school day. Alexandra had shoulder length, wavy brown hair, grey eyes and pale skin. She was already dressed and ready to go in a _Fullmetal Alchemist_ T-shirt, blue jeans, and royal blue converse. Her backpack and binder were already loaded in the car. Once in her sister's room, her eyes immediately went to the figure still in bed, sleeping soundly. She walked up, not bothering to be quiet, and shook her sister awake.

"Hey, Talitha," she said, once again not bothering to be quiet. "It's time to get up and go to school!"

Her sister groaned and opened her light blue eyes, blinking a few times to let her eyes adjust to the new light flowing into her room.

"Alex?" she asked sleepily, "What time is it?"

"6:30." her sister responded, "So, we need to go soon if we want to be there on time!"

Her sister groaned again but nodded and slowly started to get out of bed. Pulling the gray covers off of her body, she sat upright to face her sister.

"Can you get some breakfast for me while I get dressed?" Talitha asked her sister.

Alex nodded and told her sister that she would leave it on the table and meet her in the car. She went downstairs where she was alone, her parents already at work. She got her sister a bowl of yogurt and granola, with a glass of chocolate milk to drink. She then proceeded to the car, started the engine, hooked her iPhone to it through a USB port and played a few songs. Alex loved to sing but, she was only comfortable singing in front of her sister and her friends Mariana and Dustin. She would always wake up early and sit in the car singing her favorite songs. She also loved to play clarinet, which is what she played in her school's marching band. Talitha was in choir and tried to convince Alex to join, to which Alex refused. About four songs through, her sister walked out in jeans, neon turquoise shoes, and a black 'Periodic Table of Minecraft' shirt. She put her school supplies in the back seat, and sat down on the driver's side. After a routine check, to make sure the settings in the car were correct, they were on their way to school. Alexandra looked back at their house, a strange feeling forming in the pit of her stomach. A feeling that she could not describe.

Once at school she parted ways with her sister and walked up the stairs to meet Dustin at his locker. They would always meet there before school started. Dustin Holmes was Alexandra's best friend since the first day of school. He had curly, chocolate brown hair, icy blue eyes, and tan skin. They were so close because they sat next to each other and had almost every class together. Once Dustin saw Alex he smiled and waved. She returned the smile and walked up to him.

"Hey, everything okay?" he asked, curiously. "You were a little late today."

"Yeah, everything is fine. Just had trouble getting my sister up this morning." Alex replied

They talked about life, school, _Doctor Who_ , and Dustin ranted about how he was the only one on the football team who took the coach seriously before they had to leave for their first class together.

Dustin soon had to leave for lunch, which they didn't have together. Once they said their goodbyes the same feeling from that morning re-entered Alex. Now though, she could sense that it was a feeling of dread, almost as if that was her last goodbye to her friend...that she wouldn't see him again for a long time. She once again shook it off and headed to her next class and soon it was time for lunch, which she had with her sister and her friend.

~~~~~~~~~~~LINE BREAK~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Talitha Blackwell waved goodbye to Alexandra and trudged her way to her locker on the main floor of the school. She sighed as she finally reached it, and opened it to reveal a mess of various art supplies, books, and papers. As she was getting what she needed for the day, Talitha thought back to that strange feeling she had when she pulled her car out of her house's driveway. She felt as if she would never see her home again; she felt incredibly sorrowful as she thought about her and her sister's parents. Talitha shook her head. There was no way that feeling was true: after all, this wasn't an anime!

Talitha slammed her locker closed and started to walk to her first period class, AP Chemistry. As she was walking, she noted that her friend Elizabeth was absent. Usually Elizabeth would have joined her on their walk to their first class. Talitha stopped for a moment and looked for the blonde haired girl. Another feeling overcame Talitha, like she never would get to properly say goodbye to Elizabeth. She tried to brush off that feeling and went into her class just as the tardy bell rang.

Lunch eventually came, and Talitha was extremely relieved. The only close friend she had in any of her morning classes was Elizabeth. Since she was absent, Talitha had no one she could talk to for quite a long time. After getting her lunch after waiting in the lunch line, she looked for her good friend Mariana in the cafeteria. Alexandra ended up finding Talitha first.

"So how was your morning?" Alexandra asked her sister.

"A bit boring. Elizabeth's absent today." Talitha answered. Alexandra nodded. Eventually they both found Mariana, but Talitha frowned a bit at the newcomer to the usually tight-knit group. He was a boy, and seemed to be on the creepy side.

"Hello, Talitha and Alexandra." Mariana greeted with a smile, "This is Jason. I agreed to let him sit with us." Talitha saw Mariana fidgeting with her rosary and wondered what was making her feel so uneasy.

"Jason, like the guy from the horror movie?" Talitha asked and immediately swore to herself. _Way to make a first impression Talitha,_ she thought to herself _, insult him by saying he's creepy enough to be in a horror movie_. She could see Alexandra facepalm in the corner of her eye. Luckily, Jason didn't seem to mind; in fact, he seemed happy about it.

"Yeah, exactly like that!" he stated enthusiastically. Talitha saw Mariana shift uncomfortably next to him, and Talitha felt a little creeped out herself. _Why would anyone want to be associated with Friday the 13th Jason?_ she wondered.

 **EDITOR'S NOTE:** _ **Hello, my readers! 'Tis I, Jonquil Gemstone ;D. As you can tell, Venus Luxia and AlphonseLover13 are just as excited as I am to be sharing this with you. Feel free to check out their other stories (trust me, they have talent :). Let us know your thoughts by reviewing, and be ready for the next chapter this upcoming Friday!**_

 _ **Oh, and...what AlphonseLover13 said XP.**_


	3. Unexpected Turn of Events

3\. Unexpected Turn of Events

As Talitha and Alexandra sat down for lunch, Mariana could not keep her head from aching. She was certain this introduction was going disastrously!

 _Calm down,_ she told herself, imagining what she'd say to someone else in that situation, _don't worry: you're simply overreacting._ She glanced over at Jason when he reacted cheerfully to her friend's horror movie statement. Maybe he wasn't as weird as she thought…or, at least, maybe he was not intolerably so. After all, not everyone would react amicably to being compared to a fictional serial-killer wraith…even so…she shifted uncomfortably. _Why must he sit this close?_ Mariana sighed internally. Maybe he was one of those "people" people whose personal space was tiny, no matter how much room there was: she had encountered those before.

The Blackwell sisters sat across from them, and the four of them began talking normally. A notion struck Mariana—what if he sat at elbowing distance because he needed people? Something in her mind told her he may have lost someone, or had problems at home…something like that. Shoving aside any premonitions, she looked him in the eyes and moved the conversation to family. Usually, she tried not to pry, but in his case...she felt it necessary to know.

"So," she asked casually, "do you have any siblings?"

"Well, no." Jason shook his head, and tapped his finger on the table. That seemed to be a nervous tick of some sort. "But I had these two friends…" he smiled, but she noticed the corners of his gold-flecked eyes remained smooth: _genuine_ smiles resulted in the eyes crinkling at the corners. "Come to think of it, you remind me of them. You and—what's your name again?" he glanced at Talitha, brow furrowed.

"Talitha." The blonde sister replied, "and this is my sister, Alexandra."

"Right! I am so sorry, I forgot." Jason smiled again, chuckling a little bit. "How old are you all, again?"

"Oh," Talitha seemed a bit surprised at the sudden question. "I'm—"

"Why do you ask?" Mariana Talon wanted to know, but forced herself into a conversational tone (albeit noticeably pointed). A spear of suspicion pierced her heart, and she decided it best to throw her guard up again, a wall now surrounding her sympathy. At this, Jason seemed rather caught. She noticed Alexandra watching the exchange—a bit nervously, if she wasn't mistaken. _There won't be a confrontation,_ Mariana told herself, _unless_ _he_ _wants one._

"Well, I—I just—I—I guess I was curious…that's all." He bit his lip, suddenly interested in old scratches on top of their lunch table.

"Really?" she picked at the soup in her metal thermos, delicately scooping out a sought-after piece of meat and eating it. "Alrightey, then. I'm seventeen." Mariana continued observing her lunch, as if the mystery was in her milk instead of the boy sitting next to her. Once the initial hostility of her mood was gone, she also spread her fingers and felt herself lost in the ornate structure of her ring. She lifted her eyes and stopped her nonchalance when she heard her friend speak up. Was it really only seconds since she last spoke?

"And I'm fifteen." Alexandra smiled at her classmate. Talitha was absorbed in reading something on her smartphone. Mariana teasingly lifted her eyes to the heavens, spirits lightened by this daily frustration; consequently, Alexandra reciprocated the gesture and nudged her older sister.

"What?" Talitha's head popped up, her blue eyes clearly ripped from some other universe. Her friends giggled a bit when she recalled a conversation was going on. "Oh, right!" she crossed her legs and sat attentively, opening her mouth to answer Jason's question: "…I'm sorry, what was the question?" she said with a smile, which for some reason made Mariana and Alexandra laugh heartily. There was just something comical about those daily antics.

"Your age." It now appeared as though _Jason_ was the one controlling himself. Apparently, this wasn't a laughing matter for him.

"Oh, I'm eighteen years old."

"I knew it!" Jason triumphantly pumped his fist in the air, caught himself in the act, then seated himself again. He cleared his throat, obviously embarrassed. "It's just…I…never mind." He looked up at them, smiling again. He rubbed the back of his neck ruefully. "Sorry if I creeped you out or anything. I just…" Jason sighed heavily and looked at his hands, which were resting on the table in front of him. There appeared to be something underneath his blue sleeves, Mariana noted absently. "I needed to know, for some reason…"

"That's okay." Talitha waved it off.

"Yeah," Alexandra chimed in, brushing a strand of wavy brown hair away from her face, "it's not like you're about to kidnap us, anyway, so..."

"Alex!" Talitha looked at her like she was insane. Mariana decided to join in on the fun.

"Poor Jason:" she nudged their guest playfully, "first you're compared to a serial killer," Talitha started laughing at the mention of her earlier faux pas, "now this!" Now it was Jason's turn to squirm uncomfortably. Looking down at his hands, Mariana's brain processed something she hadn't paid attention to sooner. "Oh, my goodness!" she said, "You don't have any food."

"Oh, that's okay." Jason tried to dissuade the three girls from digging through their lunches to find something to share with him. "You really don't have to—"

"Yes, we do!" Mariana's hospitality-heritage came up. Rule number one: never let them starve if you can help it, even for a moment. "Here." She never had many sharable snacks in her lunch, but that day she happened to have not touched her banana, so she was able to contribute to his lunch. Talitha gave him a bag of Cheeze-Its, and Alexandra donated a bag of Lays chips.

"No, really…are you sure?"

"Yes." The trio replied in unison, leaving no room for debate. For some reason, Jason looked worse than ever.

"Hey, Jason," Talitha asked gently, "are you alright?"

"Yeah, you look so pale." Alexandra's grey eyes were riddled with concern.

"Yes. I'm fine." Jason said, but his voice was hoarse. Clearing his throat, he tried again. "I'm perfectly okay."

"Are you sure? There's a school nurse's office just beyond the auditorium." Mariana abandoned her lunch, packing it up as she turned to her unlikely acquaintance. He was really not a bad person to hang around with, and she wanted to help him even if he was. "We can take you there."

"No! I—I'm okay now, really." He seemed to have recovered himself, so Mariana let his avoidance of help slide…for the time being, anyways. "I wish I could make it up to you all, somehow." The three teenage girls tried assuring him it was no bother, but he cut them off by raising a hand for silence. "No, really, I do. I want to make everything up to you someday, but for now…" He rolled up his sleeve to reveal three solid black bracelets, each with a single crimson-coloured stone. "Just so you know, bracelets are usually worn on the dominant arm."

There was something oddly fascinating about them, yet Mariana felt like she should be afraid of wearing even one. She watched intently as Jason removed them from his own wrist. The first, the farthest up his forearm, he gave to Talitha. The second, the one in the middle, he gave to Mariana, who chose to wear it on her right arm (as her left was occupied by the rosary bracelet). The third and final bracelet, he bestowed upon Alexandra.

"Thank you very much, Jason." Mariana said quietly. Something felt very solemn about this moment. The others also thanked him for the gifts. Jason's brilliant brown eyes looked as if they were holding a river of tears behind the golden shards in them, and his features had shadows throughout them.

"You should curse me instead." He pointed to each of his companions as he stated their names and ages. "Talitha, 18. Mariana, 17…Alexandra, 15. Three peers, opposite genders. Goodbye." He recited the phrases as if they were a set of commands to a computer. Mariana let out a gasp when suddenly, her bracelet tightened around her wrist. She knew that if it stayed like that, she might never be able to remove it.

The world began fading in and out of focus as Mariana felt a strange tingling sensation all over her body, like electricity coursing through every cell in her body. The tingling became pain—like she was being torn into a thousand pieces with red-hot tools. She thought she might faint, until light began blinding her peripheral vision as if she was being engulfed by the sun from behind.

The last thing she heard was an apology from Jason. The last thing she saw from this world was him rising from the table and walking away, taking the food they shared with him. Her entire field of vision became a mass of bright light.

 _ **In case this goes by unnoticed, my notes will be bold, italicized, AND underlined from now on :). Venus Luxia's will also be bolded, but EITHER italicized OR underlined. AlphonseLover13's will simply be bolded XP. This is to avoid any confusion whenever we converse with you ;D. This chapter, by the way, was written by me.**_

 _ **What do you think of Jason? Do you want to see more of him? Have you pieced together his backstory yet? Let us know in your comments ;)!**_

 _ **Check out Venus and AL's profiles, as well. As for those of you who have yet to read my other story, "Kilgharrah", do feel free to take a look.**_

 _ **By the way, how many of you came here from my other story? I feel curious to know :).**_

 _ **We own nothing but our original characters (don't worry: the next chapter will begin the actual FAN portion of this fiction ;P)!**_


	4. The Puppeteers

4\. The Puppeteers

Mariana's world suddenly reappeared…but it wasn't her own.

She looked around, realizing how stiff she was when she attempted to move her neck. It felt like she had been ripped apart and glued back together. The heat which seared her left a dull burning sensation, quickly fading. Feeling normal (albeit disoriented), the teenager noticed she was in some sort of office building, the lights dimmed so everything was in shadows. A stairwell was next to her, a closet behind her. Further down the hallway she was in, she saw a stainless-steel elevator. Getting a bad feeling in her gut, she tensed her muscles and heightened her awareness of the situation. Thankfully, her protective father had always taught her to look in every corner for bad guys—even if it was a full parking lot in broad daylight.

 _So much for 'too paranoid'_ , she thought of her and her brother's reactions to such precautions, _at least it should keep me alive...for now._ Mariana shook her head silently, reminding herself not to think herself doomed. It would keep her alive—whether permanently or not was of little importance. She had no idea what had happened, or where she was. She knew neither why nor how her new acquaintance did this to her. A worry struck her, like a punch to the heart:

 _What happened to Tali and Alex?_ Her friends wore those bracelets, too—obviously, it was something about _those_ infernal things that sent her there...wherever 'there' was. _I've got to find them._ Bending her knees slightly, Mariana crept along until she found a door.

Listening carefully for any movement inside, she twisted the knob slowly, praying there would be no sound. It was locked, but it was then that she remembered something important. _Next time,_ she mentally addressed herself, _think, Mariana._ Looking down at her wrist, she noticed the stone on the bracelet had turned a clear, oceanic blue. It had tightened around her wrist; any tighter, in fact, and it would have bitten into her flesh. Attempting to pry it off, she fought the urge to say 'drat it' (she never used swear words, and so developed her own set). _What sorcery is this?!_ Once again, she had to bite back her habit of saying these things aloud, although she smiled at the ridiculous fact that she used a meme at this, of all times.

Giving up the fight for the time being, she continued testing doors on that floor. All were locked except one. A set of double doors, with a strange logo on them. The logo represented a business chart of some sort, a jagged red arrow pointing upwards on a black background. It looked like the one from "Speed Racer: the Next Generation", so either this was a group of die-hard fans or something very, very strange was happening.

Mariana's lips curved into an almost sinister smile as she folded her arms delicately, like a mother who knows exactly what her kids were up to near the cookie jar. _Oh,_ the seventeen-year-old decided to find out in the 'safest' way possible: prepare for the ultimate. _If this is the Committee…_ she adopted her business persona and knocked. A man in a stereotypical Texan getup answered, about to berate someone for being late (and a bumbling buffoon) until he realized it was someone else at the door.

"Who the thunder are you?!" he exclaimed in an irritated Southern drawl.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, too, sir." She smiled semi-genuinely at him, fueling the genuine part of it with what otherwise would have been laughter at his cowboy hat, boots, mustache…this man had cowboy everything! She did like him as a character, but the things he did—snapping hostility out of her mind for the time being, she spoke to him with a confident urgency. "I'm afraid I have to speak with the head of this committee."

Scowling at her, the man (she forgot his name) was about to send her away when a woman's voice interrupted him.

 _ **Apparently, underlines do not show up here :/…**_

 _ **At any rate, someone (I will not name who) fell behind schedule, so I wrote this and inserted it before their chapter(s) in order to give you something to hang onto for the time being ;). This is why we need a boot camp…**_

 _ **I apologize for the cliffhanger, but I need to brush up on my "research" (ironically, this is one of the fandoms I picked out :P).**_

 _ **ABOUT THE FANDOM: "SPEED RACER: THE NEXT GENERATION"**_

 _ **A sequel series to the classic (although admittedly corny) "Speed Racer" series, it follows the adventures of Speed Racer Jr., his crew, and his brother X Racer (yes, those are their names). SPOILER ALERT: chapters will contain spoilers.**_

 _ **We do not own SR: The Next Gen. (otherwise, the names would not be quite so corny :P).**_


	5. The First Day of School

5\. The First Day of School

The only thing that Talitha remembered was pain. A blinding scorching pain that felt like every cell in her being was on fire. After what felt like forever, the pain subsided. Relief flooded Talitha as the pain left her, but it was quickly replaced by fear. _What happened?_ Talitha thought. She got up shakily to observe her surroundings.

 _Where am I?_ Talitha asked herself. There was nothing but desert for as far as the eye could see. There was nothing but sand. She immediately looked for her sister and friend, but they were nowhere to be seen. A panic started to set in which quickly transformed into fury.

 _What did Jason do!_ She thought furiously. Deciding that she would probably die on her own out in the desert, Talitha started to walk in a random direction in hopes of finding some kind of civilization.

"Alex! Mariana!" Talitha yelled, hoping they were close by. She received no response, so she continued on in that random direction.

As Talitha was just about to give up on finding anyone, she spotted something in the distance. A building. Relief flared in her as she saw this sign of civilization. Talitha started to run as fast as she could towards the building. At first she thought it looked like some sort of business. As she got closer she saw that it resembled some bizarre form of a college.

 _Who would build a school in the middle of the desert?!_ Talitha thought, bewildered. She finally reached the campus. Talitha bent over, breathing heavily after her running. A few of the students looked at her in confusion.

"Don't mind …me" Talitha wheezed out towards the students. The students left her, and Talitha caught her breath. She decided to explore the campus to see if she would recognize it. As she was wandering around the campus, she got an eerie feeling. It was like deja vu. Suddenly she saw someone very familiar to her. Someone who could not possibly exist-except there he was.

 _Was that Speed Racer Jr?_ Talitha asked herself. _Wait, does that mean that this place is actually Racing Academy?_ Without thinking, Talitha ran up to Speed at lightning speed (pun totally intended).

"Are you really Speed Racer Jr.?!" Talitha screamed at him. Speed, understandably, looked unnerved at how close Talitha was to him.

"Yes …." Speed said uncertainly, his brown eyes looking towards the two other students. A girl with brown skin and even browner hair wearing all blue clothes, and a redhead wearing a blue shirt and sloppy red tie.

 _Must not fangirl_ Talitha demanded herself _MUST NOT FANGIRL!_ She realized that she must have been making a strange face because Speed and his friends were looking at her with concern. Talitha quickly composed herself.

"I need to speak with your uncle-it's urgent." Talitha told Speed. Speed, still a little freaked out by Talitha, agreed to take her to the headmaster's office. Speed bade farewell to his friends and led Talitha to the headmaster's office.

As they were walking there, Talitha's mind was racing. How was she inside a TV show? How did she get there? Suddenly, a thought occurred to her. What was she going to tell Spritle that would sound remotely believable?

 ** _This is Venus Luxia, sorry for the short chapter :(. Hopefully AlphonseLover13's chapter is longer than mine! Hope you enjoyed this short teaser!_**

 ** _~~This is J. Gemstone ;D. I'm sorry for not making Venus Luxia write in all capital letters, but I forgot to tell her, and total caps-lock is not exactly my style...so, the tildae(~) will surround my notes ;). There: that's settled :).~~_**

 ** _~~By the way, I posted this early, since the last chapter was also rather short ;). This Friday will be AlphonseLover13's chapter~~_**


	6. Go, Speed Racer, Go!

**AlphonseLover13: Deadlines. Who knew that they could be so… deadly. Anyway, here is my chapter. It's been so long since I've seen** _ **Speed Racer: The Next Generation,**_ **so I might forget some details or when I'm describing sets. If it does not correspond with the show, sorry. Youtube does not have all of the episodes of season one that I need to refresh my memory.**

6\. Go, Speed Racer, Go!

When Alexandra woke up she was very disoriented. Her head was spinning and she felt nauseous. After a few minutes, the feeling subsided and she took a moment to observe her surroundings. One of the first things that she noticed was that she was alone. No Talitha or Mariana to be seen.

"TALITHA! MARIANA! Are you guys here?!" she shouted. She received no answer-that alone (paired with many other reasons at the moment) caused her to start hyperventilating.

 _Calm down Alex,_ she thought to herself, slowing her breathing down to an even pace once again. _If you pass out it will make everything worse._ It took a few more minutes to calm herself down. _What did Jason do, and why? He looked sad so, did he regret doing whatever he did to us?_

The next concern was the bracelet that Jason put on them was still on her left arm. She tugged at it, hoping to take it off. It did not budge. She glared at the bracelet, as if it would burst into flames under her gaze. She sighed, seeing that it was not coming off anytime soon.

She looked up and saw a statue of some kind. It was of a man with a car behind him, striking a pose that felt familiar to her. She got up and went to investigate the statute further. She reached her hand out and was about to touch it when she heard a familiar voice.

"What are you doing here?" Alexandra turned around to see none other than Speed Racer Senior standing in all of his glory. Alex just stood there for a minute, just trying to process everything. She didn't notice Speed come closer to her. "I'll ask again: what are you doing here? If you were in the school you should have classes now."

Alex decided to answer honestly.

"I'm lost. I'm also looking for my sister, Talitha, and my friend, Mariana. My name is Alexandra."

"Those are some strange names. You guys must not be from around here." he observed the strange young girl.

"Yeah, we are from way out of town." she replied. "Strange names? Is that really something that you should say considering that your name is Speed? And that you are a racer and that so happens to be your last name. Also…" she continued on with her rant about how corny and cheesy the names were, leaving Speed looking shocked at her knowledge. It left him wondering who exactly this girl was and how she knew all of this. She couldn't have been born then. She was younger than Speed Jr.! Or at least, she looked younger than him. "... And don't get me started on naming your son X. And who in the world would name their kid Spritle?!" When she was done she was breathing heavily, out of breath. She looked at the man, who looked at her as if she was insane. She rubbed the back of her neck nervously. "Sorry, I needed to get that off of my chest for a while. Talitha never lets me rant that long."

"Who and what are you?! Where do you come from?!" Speed asked, borderline shouting at this point.

Alex sighed, sat down, and motioned Speed to do the same. He complied.

"Better get comfortable, it's a long story."

And so, Alexandra told him her story, praying to anyone out there that he would believe her. During the story Speed looked like he was in deep thought. When she finished, she looked at him, expecting him to call her crazy.

"I-I never thought that...They were only theories…" he said, looking like he was trying to rack his brain for an answer but failing. He stopped and looked at Alex. "You need to get to the school. More than likely your sister or friend will be there. It's not too far, but still a good distance away. I will give you some supplies for the trip."

Alex stared at him.

"Y-you mean you believe me?! And you're willing to help me?" she asked, not believing what she heard.

"Of course! Better get started though. Stay here. I will bring you some food and water."

With that he left, only to return some time later with a bag of food and water. He pointed in the right direction. They said their goodbyes, and Alex showed her appreciation for his help once again. With that, Alex was off to search for her sister and friend in a fictional universe, not knowing what was happening to them and worrying about her safety in the desert-like place she landed in.

 _Don't worry Mariana, Talitha! I'll find you and we can find a way back home!_

 _ **~~Expect the next chapter to be posted next Friday ;D! We do not own Speed Racer: The Next Generation or anything within it, as evidenced by AL13's disapproval of the corny names XD. Don't forget to follow, favorite, and review us ;).~~**_


	7. Joining the Dark Side

7\. Joining the Dark Side

Mariana walked into the Committee's conference room with a formal air, bowing to the Head of the Committee. Noticing the chin-length hairstyle, she remembered a little theory she had about this woman—a theory she recently found out was true. Smiling, Mariana was about to introduce herself when the shadowy woman cut her off.

"Exactly _what_ do you think you are doing here?" she spoke in a distorted voice, as if she wore a modulator of some sort. "And who are you?"

"My name is Mariana Talon," she began. _After all,_ she thought, _she is asking reasonable questions._ Given the fact that she just barged into their meeting, she felt everyone was taking this bizarrely well…never really a good sign with these manipulative types, but oh, well, "and it is an honor to be in your presence, ma'am."

"I'm sure it is." The woman replied smugly. "But you still have yet to answer my _first_ question."

"Of course." Mariana felt rather embarrassed. Perhaps if she kept buttering them up a bit, she could recover the image she hoped to create in their minds. "You see, I am here because of…" she fought for true but excusable words "inexplicable circumstances—however," she answered the question, now for getting down to business, "I have heard some things about your mission to obtain the Mach 6, and I propose you send me as an undercover agent to Racer Academy."

'Go on…" the shadow woman wanted to hear more. Remembering everything she knew about negotiation, instinct, and impromptu speech-making, Mariana took a subtle breath and began her presentation.

"It has come to my attention that despite wonderful planning on your part, madam, your efforts to obtain the Mach 6 have consistently failed, mostly because of...errors committed by your proxies." She noticed the members of the Committee tensing. She knew she was out on a limb, insulting them, and she felt like she was being put on the chopping block…but she had to make it sound like they needed her. Thankfully, she was right about her statements and reasoning; hopefully, the woman saw it that way. "Whenever this occurs, the committee is forced once again to gaze at the Mach 6 from afar, and Speed Racer's physical, mental, and emotional state—not to mention, the state of all his affairs—are known only through typical, expensive, detectable surveillance…but what if," here she raised a finger and looked around at the other members of the committee, "someone went into the school as simply a new student and became _friends_ with Speed Racer over an extended period of time? Speed Jr. is very trusting when it comes to his friends, to the point of naivety on multiple occasions." She could see the woman put a hand up to her chin, and she could already tell the cogs were turning. Hopefully, she went along with sending the strange new seventeen-year-old instead of one of her own proxies.

"So, what you are saying," the shadow woman ran the basic idea through aloud, "is that if we have someone to keep Speed's trust, we'll have a constant source of information."

"Precisely. Except, this proxy will not be able to physically sabotage him in any way, lest he should find out and his trust break." This was the only catch to her deal: no sabotage or betrayal. This was why her plan was what it was—she had to get close to the school, and she needed their help. With Speed's trust, she could reach the Mach 6. With the Shadow Committee's 'alliance', she may be able to help him get his father's inter-dimensional travel capable hourglass. If worse came to worst, she would abandon the Committee and help Speed.

"Hm…" the woman considered the catch. "A reasonable precaution; however," here her tone became sharper, more suspicious than before. Hearing it made the girl's spine crawl; nonetheless, very much in-character now, Mariana tilted her head to one side and brushed her long hair away from her face, as it had fallen as she spoke. "Who told you about us, and why do you want to help?"

"Because, ma'am…I believe we have something in common. We both want the world at our fingertips. Are you capable of offering me what I seek?"

"Meaning?"

"I want—at no monetary cost to you or anyone else—a seat with everyone else in this room, as an equal." She wanted to add 'permanent' into the deal, but this had to sound like a sweet offer, one they needn't worry about too much. Everyone in this room was expendable, after all. "As for the question of how I learned about you, one of my relatives used to work for you; sadly, he failed in his purpose and died because of it." Mariana looked at the rest of the Committee, letting her gaze rest upon the woman's face—or rather, the silhouette thereof.

"And how do we know you won't sabotage us?" The cowboy—Handles Mustache, if her vague memory served correctly—spoke up, and the Committee members nodded their agreement. "You could be one of Speed Racer Sr.'s spies."

"I have no finances, no family, and no real home." Mariana admitted. Everything she had was left back at her dimension. Her voice trembled more than usual as she turned to look him dead in the eyes. It made her sound vulnerable, which she hadn't wanted at all, but at least it would make her seem like what she was: a vulnerable child alone in a harsh new world. "The relative I told you about—he never wanted the Committee to find out about me…" she sniffled, outwardly struggling to maintain respectable (yet believable) composure. So long as she didn't break down weeping, the way she felt like doing, a few tears were relatively welcomed. "The fool left me with absolutely nothing by the time he died. Such was the price," she again looked around at the Committee members, "for my temporary safety."

"And you would trust us?" A thick German accent sounded from one of the other chairs—the Nazi guy she remembered, but could not name if her life depended on it.

"If I do not, I will be no better off than I was before. At least the Committee offers me a purpose—something to follow, no matter what." She met the place where the shadowy woman's eyes would be. "The Committee places loyalty and efficiency above moral values, which is exactly what I'm signing on to right now. So," she extended her hand, "shall you gain a _true_ spy today or not?" After considering for a moment, the shadowy woman accepted the hand, and a deal was made. They shared an evil smile, and Mariana allowed herself to play the puppet until further notice.

"You are to depart for Racer Academy tomorrow."

"Yes, ma'am." Mariana walked out of the room, bowing respectfully on her way. A pair of security guards escorted her to her accommodations, which were essentially a holding cell with an oversized jacket for a blanket. Thanking the guards, Mariana Talon settled underneath the 'blanket' and made herself as comfortable as she could. She'd expected them to put more effort into manipulating her, but she _did_ essentially swear fealty to them under any circumstance. Closing her eyes, she drifted off to sleep on red-alert, recalling all too well the episode where Speed went to an alternate dimension in which the Committee ruled the world Nazi-style. That image of fascist Connor seemed to haunt her—popping its red-haired head into the doorway every time she was pulled back to reality.

She could never have denied crying pathetically that night. She missed her family, and everything about home—mirages of her loved ones voices beckoned in her mind, as was usual on her first night _anywhere_ away from home—but this time was different in so many ways. Not only did she believe she might never see them again, but she feared for how worried they must've been upon her absence, and how so many would inevitably miss her…and the same scenarios would go for her friends, she realized. Her eyes opened widely, and she looked up at the ceiling.

 _Talitha,_ she sent them her thoughts as if sending an envelope, wondering if they'd receive them, _Alexandra…where are you?_ Breathing in and out, she fought the worry in her heart, _Are either of you alive? Are you well?_ Sighing, she prayed, tried putting the situation in God's hands, and...she still felt like a nervous wreck. Looking down at her left wrist, she was happy to notice her rosary bracelet was still there. She prayed a nice, long rosary, letting herself get lulled into peace by the constant murmuring of Hail Marys. More relaxed now, she finally managed to drift off to sleep, not noticing the stone of the black shackle turning a dark royal blue.

 _ **~~We do not own Speed Racer: the Next Generation. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone in the U.S! Tread carefully, and sleep well.~~**_


	8. Infiltrating Racer Academy

8\. Infiltrating Racer Academy

"You clear on the plan, new girl?" Handles Mustache grunted to the teenager next to him in the car, and she nodded.

"Yes, sir" Mariana replied and related the plan back to him "I enter the school as a student, promising to work for my tuition," she noticed Mustache's lip curl as she mentioned _her_ suggestion to the shadowy woman "and from then on I must gain and maintain Speed Jr.'s friendship." She turned to her new associate (as a member of the Committee's Board of Directors, she viewed him as her authoritative equal…now she had to prove the fact to _them_ ) and took on what she hoped was a mild-mannered tone. "If you could just drop me off before the school is in view, then go ahead without me, I feel the plan would go more smoothly."

"What in tarnation do you mean?" he wagged his finger menacingly, keeping his eyes on the road ahead of them. "You may be clever enough to get on the board, but you'd still better keep your pie-hole shut around me." Uh-oh. She struggled not to flinch at having upset him.

"I merely meant that if I showed up with _you_ , and you were to be found out—not that I'm saying you will" Mariana added, seeing how her apparent doubts about his competence level offended him further, "but it's a possibility that cannot be ignored—anyways, I believe I could gain more significant ground if I came alone. After all…" here she hardened her own gaze and sharpened her voice "I don't want this going wrong if you fail…would you?"

"What are you getting at?" the way Handles' fingers flexed around the steering wheel and the poorly concealed trembling in his voice gave away that he _knew_ what Mariana was "getting at" with her statement.

"I may not have known her until yesterday afternoon, but _she_ does not seem the kind to take failure very well. Consider arriving separately as a safety net—you may even take the credit for it, if you so desire." The important thing was to arrive with absolutely _no ties_ to Mustache: she vaguely remembered the episode where he got caught, and it did not bode well for him. She needed to toss any connections as far away as possible, or her own plan may be set back (if not simply fall to pieces). As much as she did not approve of corrupt, world-dominating organizations, she had to play this game and come out on top.

Thankfully, Mustache saw the reasons she gave and let her out of the car with her newly-supplied drivers' license (she never bothered mentioning she was a terrible driver, but hey—that could remind Headmaster Spritle of his younger days) and a tote full of school supplies, energy bars, and water. The only condition was this—if anyone asked, _he_ thought of it, not Mariana.

"Very well, Mr. Mustache."

"And you don't know me, either. If we're gonna pull this off, you've gotta go the full trail with it."

"Very well, then." Mariana said cheerfully, bidding him good luck (receiving an "I-don't-need-luck" from him) and waving goodbye. She began walking the final couple of miles, her brown tote swinging at her hip as she moved faster and faster. She was offered new clothing, but she only accepted an awesome-looking toffee-grey jacket, with lots of zippers and lapels that could be hidden when zipped up. She kept the rest of her outfit and removed her ring, putting it inside her pocket. After all, if her story was going to work, she needed to seem as if she had walked her entire way to Racer Academy…nearly the whole way, at any rate. Once the school was in sight, she finished whatever was left in her water-bottle and ate a few more energy bars. Truth be told, she had too many rations left, so she had to remedy that. They wouldn't know her original rations, but still…

Approaching the school grounds, she saw a muscular boy with dark brown hair and a black "X" tattooed on his arm. The boy stood with a short-haired girl in blue coveralls, a robotic monkey, and a red-headed boy dressed as Speed Sr. They were, respectively, as follows: X (Speed's older brother), Lucy (the team strategist), Chim-Chim, and Connor (the mechanically adept fanboy).

X was her second-favorite character! She just loved watching him and Speed interacting with each other: it was so adorable (in a brotherly sort of way), and she had a soft spot for siblings! Battling her timidity, she approached the tattooed boy as normally as possible, even regaining her usual swagger as she approached!

"Excuse me," she could tell her face showed her inner fangirliness, so she decided to just roll with it, since he and his brother were famous here, "Are you—?"

"X Racer." X Racer introduced himself, a proud smirk in his tone. "I sign arms, pictures, and foreheads." Clearly, he expected the newcomer to want an autograph.

"What's your name?" Lucy, the girl in coveralls, inquired amicably. Mariana giggled a bit when she rolled her eyes at X's big-headedness.

"M—my name's Mariana Talon," she said, "and, well…I need your help, X Racer."

"What do you mean?" he raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms, most likely wondering if it was worth his time.

"I heard your uncle is the headmaster here, and—well, I was hoping maybe you would take me to see him?" Mariana Talon looked up at him and smiled sweetly, blinking innocently the way she did when asking Jerome a favor. X looked at her for a moment, then sighed.

"Can't you just find his office yourself? I'm sure there are, like, signs or something…" This reply earned him a reprimanding look from Lucy. Mariana let her face fall.

"Oh, okay then." She said truthfully "I understand." Turning away, Mariana began walking towards the school, her boots' silver buckles making quiet jingling sounds when her heels struck pavement. _Oh, well._ She sighed through her nose. _I guess I'll simply have to meet them during lunch…if Spritle even lets me in today._

"Hang on," X called after her, and she stopped in her tracks "I guess I _can_ take you to Spritle if you really want me to."

"Thank you so much!" Mariana beamed at him.

"Right this way."

 _Yep._ She thought while following him into Racer Academy to meet Spritle Racer. _He's almost_ exactly _like Jerome._ Fighting off her instinctual annoyance at X's reluctance, she found herself happy he was even bothering to help her at all! _I'm about to meet Spritle…_ Now was when her fangirl-mode was fully triggered. _I'm about to meet SPRITLE RACER!_

 _ **This is Jonquil Gemstone: AlphonseLover13 and Venus Luxia were traveling on very important business for most of the week, and neither could write their chapters under a tight schedule (and now, exhaustion). Therefore, being the good friend I am, I wrote this to buy them both some extra time. I'm not certain as to whether they'll have a chapter ready by next Friday, so if you were hoping for either of them this time, we all apologize. Don't worry—they'll be back soon ;D!~~**_

 _ **~~We do not own Speed Racer: The Next Generation (if we did, Handles Mustache would not exist, which would be very unfortunate :P)~~**_


	9. Reunion (of a Sort)

9\. Reunion (of a Sort)

Talitha nervously followed Speed to the headmaster's office. _What am I going to tell Spritle?_ she thought to herself. _After all, my story is pretty unbelievable at this point in their story. It doesn't look like they are that far into the series yet._ Talitha bit her lip as she tried to come up with a believable story. Speed must have noticed her nervous habit because he decided to try to ease her worries.

"Don't worry," Speed told Talitha, "Uncle Spritle will be able to help you with whatever you want to talk to him about."

Talitha did not have the heart to tell him that if she did tell Spritle about her situation, he would not be able to help her much. As they continued their walk, Talitha's mind wandered over to her sister and best friend. _Would they even be in the same universe as me? Are they safe?_

"We're here." Speed stopped in front of the headmaster's door and knocked on it. Talitha's thoughts were refocused onto the current situation she was in. Speed called to his uncle, and she heard a voice from inside giving Speed permission to enter. They both entered his office, and Talitha noted that it looked exactly like the show. It had windows with white blinds in the back and bookshelves filled with racing memorabilia. She even saw the leaderboard on the one of the walls showing the top three racers in the academy.

Spritle himself looked to be right from the show. However, since Talitha and her sister had only ever watched the original series, she kept replacing him with a younger Spritle in her mind. _Great,_ Talitha thought, _it's going to be so hard to look at him and not think of the little boy who always hid in the trunk of his brother's race car. I just hope that I can talk to him without mentioning how much he has changed since then._

"Hello Speed, I'm guessing that this young lady with is the reason you're in my office today." Spritle said kindly to his nephew.

"Yeah," Speed confirmed, "She said that she needed to speak with you."

Spritle's attention turned toward Talitha "So, what seems to be troubling you? I don't believe you are one of my students." Spritle asked Talitha. She started to bite her lip again. _Now or never_ she thought.

"My name is Talitha Blackwell, Headmaster Spritle," _Must not comment on age! Must not comment on age!_ She repeated like a mantra in her head, "I guess you can say that I have a bit of an unbelievable story." Talitha stopped there, trying to come up with a believable lie.

"You may go on, I'm sure I can help you with whatever situation you've found yourself in?" Spritle encouraged Talitha to go on with her explanation. _I seriously doubt it,_ Talitha thought to herself.

"Well, you see …. my sister, best friend, and I are ….orphans," _Really, Talitha_ she scolded herself, _Orphans! They would never believe that!_

"What happened to you, your friend, and your sister?" Speed asked, appearing to be greatly concerned. _… Go with it, Talitha_ she told herself.

"We ran away from our orphanage for … um … personal reasons, and we decided to hitchhike to … um … a city to start a new life. But, after our last hitchhike, we got separated … because … I was knocked out. I woke up in the middle of the desert near here, and when I found the famous Racer Academy, I had to go and find help. Can you please help me find my sister and my best friend?" Talitha sounded desperate towards the end of her story. Spritle looked like he was in deep thought after hearing her story, and Speed looked ready to help her that instant.

"Well," Spritle began, "that is quite the experience you've been through, but I'm afraid I can only offer some help."

"And that would be?" Talitha asked uncertainly.

"I cannot help you much with finding your sister and friend, but I can offer you a future. Do you have a driver's license?" Spritle inquired.

"Yeah, its right here." Talitha took out the license that she always carried with her and showed it to them.

"I would like to offer you a place in my racing academy; your tuition will be on scholarship if you do well enough in the audition. If not, then I can offer you a part time job at the academy." Talitha could not believe what she had just been told. She was going to be in Racer Academy! But wait…

"Wouldn't I need a car?" she asked.

"Don't worry, I can just ask Connor if you can use one of the cars he's working on." Speed reassured her. Talitha was stunned for a moment at how eager they were to help, but was broken out of it when she heard a knock at the door.

"Who is it?" Spritle asked.

"It's X," Speed's older brother answered, "I brought a girl that needs to talk to you."

"You may come in." Spritle told X. The door opened to reveal X and a very familiar girl next to him.

"Mariana," Talitha whispered it to herself. Luckily, none of the Racer family seemed to hear her. Mariana looked to be having her own fangirl moment when she saw Spritle. She squeaked like a mouse before quickly composing herself and apologizing.

"Mariana!" Talitha repeated, this time loud enough for the Racer family to hear. Talitha hugged her and started to fire off questions about her sister and what had happened, but Talitha suddenly stopped. Mariana was acting like she didn't know her.

"Sorry, do I know you?" Mariana asked, acting like she was confused. Talitha started to panic. _Does Mariana have amnesia?_ Talitha thought to herself, _No, she can't. She still fangirled when she saw Spritle so she has to remember, but then why …_ She stopped her train of thought when she saw Mariana make a small gesture with her hands. Talitha realized that Mariana was trying to tell her that she would talk to her later.

"No, you just look like someone I know." Talitha decided to answer. She did not know why Mariana was pretending to not know her, but she was going to go along with it until she got answers from Mariana.

Unfortunately, X caught on to the fact that Talitha knew Mariana's name, but then denied that she knew Mariana. Spritle was just about to question the strange exchange between Talitha and Mariana when another knock was heard at the door.

"It appears that my office is quite popular today." Spritle stated good humouredly. One of the teachers brought in another familiar girl. _Alexandra!_ Talitha screamed in her head, catching herself before she stated her name out loud. Alexandra looked like she had just come out of a garbage can. She had various pieces of food all over her.

"This young lady started a foodfight in the cafeteria, headmaster. What kind of punishment should we give her?" the angry teacher asked Spritle.

"Hi, the name is Alexandra Blackwell and I don't even go to this school so you have no right to punish me." Alexandra stated, looking very annoyed, "Oh hey, Talitha, Mariana, back me up on this. That guy totally got what he deserves."

Apparently forgetting completely about her short conversation with Mariana, Speed and Spritle looked at Talitha, silently asking if she was her sister. It was at this point that Talitha just wanted to go crawl into a hole and stay there for the rest of her life.

 _ **~~Woohoo, let's give it up for Venus Luxia! We hope you had as much fun reading this as I did when she showed it to me XD. She and AlphonseLover13 have had their rest for now, so you'll be seeing far more of them in the near future ;D!~~**_

 _ **~~We do not own Speed Racer: The Next Generation (regrettably)...~~**_


	10. Trouble with a Side of Pudding

10\. Trouble with a Side of Pudding

Alex was in a pickle. She stood in front of Spritle, in trouble for causing a food fight. Why was a long story, but at least she found Talitha and Mariana.

 _-Flashback-_

Alex was a good way along on her journey, trying to find out what exactly happened with Jason. She kept wondering what happened to her sister and her friend. Her train of thought was interrupted when her stomach started growling. She sighed, deciding now was a good time to take a break. She sat down, and opened the bag Speed Sr. gave her. Her eyes widened at the contents. Protein bars, five of them, and water. Protein bars! That's all!

"Speed Sr.! I don't even like protein bars, you jerk!" She yelled at the top of her lungs, knowing that he would not hear her.

She sighed and ate one bar for the time being and drank some water. Alex continued on her journey.

 **-Time Skip-**

When she finally got to the school she was starving. Those bars did not last long. Once inside the school she smelled food. She followed the scent to the cafeteria. She sighed knowing that she didn't have any money (at least this universe's form). Suddenly she remembered something: her mother always made her keep extra money in case something happened. _Mom…_ She realized she may never be able to see her again. She shook her head. She had to focus on now. She also realized that if the show was made in America, maybe it was also set in America. She decided to test out her theory.

Alexandra walked up in the line got food and handed the lunch lady the money. She accepted it without hesitation, which made Alex sigh in relief. She found an abandoned table and started to eat her lunch.

Two boys then walked up to the table she was sitting at. They walked like they owned the place and looked very stuck-up.

"Hey girl, you're sitting at our table." one of them said loudly, gaining the attention of the students in the cafeteria.

Alex sighed, wondering where the adults were when you needed them. She took a look around, seeing every eye one her, before answering.

"I don't see your names engraved on this table. I have a name by the way, it's Alexandra." she snapped at him, having enough crap for one day, or week. The kids in the cafeteria went, "oooh," impressed with her comeback. The boy, however, was not.

"You are _nothing_! I haven't even seen you before today! What kind of name is 'Alexandra', anyway?" he asked, getting a reaction from the crowd.

Alex snapped. She threw the pudding that came with her lunch at him. Someone then shouted, "Food fight!" Soon, an all-out war came. After a good five minutes, an adult finally came in. Everyone froze and went quiet.

"Who on Earth is responsible for this?!" the teacher demanded.

Every student pointed at Alex.

"Oh, come on!" Alex exclaimed, sighing and throwing her hands out. The teacher then proceeded to take Alex by the arm to take her to the headmaster's office.

 _-Flashback End-_

"You may go, I will handle her." Spritle told the teacher. He went away with a huff, muttering something about today's youth being nothing but trouble.

"Before we start, I would like to speak with my lawyer." Alex told him, trying not to laugh at how old he looked. In the background Alex could see Talitha facepalm.

"No need to act like that... Alexandra, was it?" Spritle said. She nodded, and he continued, "Your sister has already explained what your situation is."

"She has?" Alex asked, looking towards Talitha a little. Mariana, she noticed, was really quiet.

"Yes, we know about you running away from your orphanage." Spritle elaborated

Alexandra was confused at first, but then she realized it must have been a story Talitha made up on the spot. Her sister was never good at impromptu speaking-after all, only in a corny TV show would anyone believe that. Alex immediately put her time in Drama to good use. Her face turned solemn as she nodded.

"Don't worry," Speed Jr. reassured her, with a smile, "We'll help you in any way we can!"

Aww, he was so much nicer than his father. Alex felt bad for lying to him about this.

"How?" she asked, sounding like she lost hope a long time ago.

"How old are you, Alexandra?" Spritle asked.

"I'm fifteen, sir."

"You and your sister may enroll in our academy, then. You are just old enough to start learning how to drive."

"What about my friend?"

Alex was really confused as to why they didn't mention Mariana. She was just about to ask when Mariana caught her eye. Mariana made a sign with her hand telling her to stop talking. Alex nodded slightly, showing Mariana she got the message.

"Unfortunately we have not seen her. However, since you don't know how to drive, you will not be able to participate in the invitational races I am planning. You may go to the dances though."

"I can help you learn, Alexandra. Talitha, come with us. We can find you a car as well." Speed Jr. said.

"Please, call me Alex." she told Speed. He nodded

 _OMG! Speed Jr is going to teach me how to drive a race car! Better than any driving school they have at home!_

They walked down the halls. Speed was in the front, which gave Alex and Talitha time to talk quietly.

"Do you know why Mariana acted so weird in Sprite's office?" Alex asked her

"I have no idea. Hopefully we can talk to her later." her older sister replied

"Yeah, Spritle mentioned a dance. Maybe we can talk to her then."

"Or hopefully before." Talitha added, wanting to get to the bottom of things.

Before they knew it, two people were in front of them. Alex recognized them as Lucy and Connor.

"Connor, Lucy, this is Talitha and her sister Alexandra. Alex is going to come with me to start learning the basics of driving."

With that, they parted ways.

 **Yeah, Alex is having a hard time in this world. Oh well, Speed Jr. is teaching her to drive! Anyone would be happy about that!**

 _ **~~Welcome back, AlphonseLover13 :D! We do not own Speed Racer: the Next Generation. Oh, and WHY DO YOU HATE PROTEIN BARS?~~**_


	11. To Weave a Secret

**_Warning: we will be taking a break for the remainder of Christmas season. We'll be back on January 13th!_**

11\. To Weave a Secret

Honestly, _why_ did Alex and Talitha just _have_ to address her? Mariana collected herself with a discreet exhale through her nose. _Oh, well, Mariana,_ she reasoned with herself, _at least they caught on quickly. You'd be the same way in their place._ The teenager found herself smiling as she realized they were alive—and in the same location as she was! _If they become friends with Speed…_ that would make this whole charade so much easier, and she'd get to "befriend" them all over again! Her plan for the Committee was practically being delivered to her on a silver platter!

"So, Miss—?" Spritle politely indicated he did not remember her last name.

"Talon. Mariana Talon." She curtsied to Headmaster Spritle. _I am SPEAKING with SPRITLE!_ "I just wanted to humbly ask the honor of attending your school and working for it as both a student and employee." Not even her speech voice could avoid having a mouse-like quiver in her excitement.

"Really, there's no need to be so formal!" Spritle said amicably, waving off the formality of Mariana's tone. He raised an eyebrow, "So, you want to be a student… _and_ work for the school?"

"Yes, sir." She said enthusiastically, ignoring his invitation to stop her manners, "Without any source of income, I need a way to buy food and clothing, even _with_ a scholarship—if you'd be so generous as to give me one, that is…"

"I see…well then, may I see your driver's license?"

"Of course, sir." She felt like that one time she met with a college representative, snapping out of her fangirl moment in a flash. She pulled out the license the Committee had issued to her. "I'm afraid I'm not the best driver out there," she had no intention of fooling the good guys in this dimension, "but I'm extremely teachable in every respect, especially in new skills!" she amended quickly.

Thankfully, that was true about her: she could pick up on new skills, as long they didn't involve having to scrounge up cheap materials to build something movable (a couple of Physics projects taught her that). Handing him her license with confident professionalism, Mariana waited in silence while he inspected it.

"Alrightey," Headmaster Spritle Racer said as if she had _not_ just called herself a bad driver, "you will be auditioning for a full scholarship along with the Blackwell sisters, and you may also go to the dance."

 _Wow, this show really_ is _corny._ Mariana sighed and smiled in joyful relief (having converted and poured her inner laughter into it) _Come on now, Mariana,_ she scolded herself internally, _he is only being the generous uncle-figure you adore him for being!_

Walking out of the office and bidding Mr. Spritle a wonderful rest-of-the-day, Mariana only realized she forgot to ask about her possible job at Racer Academy…when she was already halfway to her guest dorm for the night. Stamping her foot, she cursed herself internally. Her eyes widened as she realized—she had to audition for the scholarship, so she needed help driving! She remembered Speed escorting Alexandra and Talitha out. Maybe she could head down to the track and ask them to let her practice, as well.

Mariana speed-walked all the way, the shorter locks of hair surrounding her face floating back with each step while the longer, v-shaped layers swayed violently below her shoulder-blades. Occasionally, she would jog until someone else came into view, at which point she would revert to a more dignified walk, dipping her head meekly and smiling a quick "hello" to whomever it was.

She wanted to reach the track soon, so she could get some sort of word to her friends and help them guess what she was doing. She had to be subtle about it, though: The Committee had eyes virtually anywhere, so until Speed Sr. and Damian started meeting everyone in a secure…garage…she simply had to keep her involvement with the "shadowy organization" a secret.

 _ **~~Whew! That last chapter was a close call…thank goodness Mariana has such clever friends ;D! Now, let's see if they'll catch on just as quickly in the coming chapters…~~**_

 _ **~~Will Mariana be able to gain Speed Jr.'s trust? Will the trio get their scholarships? Will they get to talk at the upcoming dance?~~**_

 _ **~~Speed Racer: The Next Generation does not belong to any of us.~~**_

 _ **~~Merry Christmas, from all of us :D~~**_


	12. The Return of the Fangirl

12\. The Return of the Fangirl

Talitha couldn't help but be excited at the prospect of racing at the academy. While her excitement bubbled up, a sense of dread swelled inside. _How could I forget that I've never raced someone before!_ Panic started to set in. _What if I crash?! What if I die in a crash?!_ Then, another panic set in, hitting her like a ton of bricks. _Will I ever live to see home again?!_

She vaguely heard Speed introduce her and Alex to Lucy and Connor. Afterwards, Speed immediately asked Talitha if she was alright. Everyone looked concerned at the panic that was present on her face.

"I'm fine," Talitha reassured them, but Alex looked unconvinced. _She knows me too well_ , Talitha thought as she calmed herself down. The two sisters turned their attention to Speed and his friends.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Talitha and Alex. I'm Lucy." greeted Lucy with a handshake. Talitha didn't have the heart to tell her she already knew who Lucy was.

"And I'm Connor!" said Connor jovially. Talitha and Alex both smiled at him; Connor was always one of their favorite characters from the series. She loved how he fanboyed over Speed Racer at the beginning of the series.

"So, Connor," Talitha started awkwardly, "Which one of Speed Racer's races was your favorite?! Mine was the one with the Mammoth car!" Apparently, Talitha could no longer hide her inner fangirl.

"Yeah," Alex continued, "my favorite was his first race!" Talitha had almost forgotten her sister was just as much a fangirl of the original Speed series as she was. Connor looked extremely excited at the prospect of discussing Speed Racer with someone else. His eyes were sparkling at the fact that there were two fans of Speed Racer in front of him. Lucy just looked annoyed and sighed to herself while Speed was standing there, looking very uncomfortable with the conversation.

"Well, it's hard to say which one is my favorite," Connor looked like he was thinking very hard about the question, "I would have to take into account his opponents in each of his races and how difficult it was for him to win… I'd have to say that every race was my favorite!" Connor finished with enthusiasm.

"What?! Even the one with the car acrobatic team?" Talitha asked as she wasn't particularly fond of that episode in the show.

"Of course!" Connor fired back. Talitha, Alex, and Connor quickly descended into incoherent talking about their favorite racer. Talitha noticed out of the corner of her eye that Speed and Lucy were standing a few steps away from him. Speed was looking more and more uncomfortable with the topic of the conversation being his father, and Lucy was looking more and more annoyed with the fan talk. They stopped their conversation when Lucy cleared her throat to gain their attention.

"So, was there something you needed to talk with us about?" Lucy asked, having gotten over he annoyance rather quickly. Talitha, her mind now on track, nodded.

"Yeah. Connor," Talitha said to Connor, "I need a favor."

"Sure, what do you need?" Connor asked, having already decided to become friends with Talitha and Alex because of their mutual respect for Speed Racer Sr.

"I need to borrow one of the cars you're working on. I don't have the money to get my own race-worthy car, and I need to race soon to get a scholarship here. That wouldn't be too much trouble, would it?" Talitha asked Connor. He smiled reassuringly at Talitha.

"Don't worry, I think I have the perfect car for you!" he cheerfully exclaimed. As they were about to head to the track to let Talitha get used to her new car, Alex called for their attention.

"You guys wouldn't mind teaching me how to drive, would you?" she asked hopefully, mostly to Speed.

"Sure, once you get your learner's permit." Speed responded to her. He motioned them to follow him to the track. Talitha and Alex continued to talk with Connor about Speed Racer Sr. on their walk to the track. Once they got to the race track, Talitha and Alex saw a familiar face. It was Mariana! It looked like she had just gotten there too, if the way she was looking around was anything to go by. Talitha quickly alerted Speed to Mariana's presence on the track. He waved at Mariana to welcome her to their group.

"Hello," Mariana greeted them all, "my name is Mariana Talon. I will also be auditioning for a scholarship."

"Nice to meet you officially Mariana, do you need anything in particular?" Speed asked her. Talitha could guess exactly what Mariana needed.

"Yes, actually:" Mariana said, a little embarrassed, "I need a car and a lesson or two before the auditions."

"I don't think that would be a problem, right Connor?" Speed questioned Connor. Connor thought about it for a little before deciding that it was fine by him. He nodded at his two friends, and they left to go get the two cars for Talitha and Mariana.

"So," Talitha began, "why were you pretending not to know us?"

"Well, do you remember the villains from the show?" Mariana asked. Talitha and Alex both nodded. _Why do I get the feeling I'm not going to like where this is going,_ Talitha thought to herself.

 _ **Venus Luxia here! Sorry for the delay on this week's chapter. To be completely honest, I almost completely forgot about it. Luckily, J. Gemstone reminded me about it *sighs in relief*. Sorry if you did not enjoy it as much as my other chapter, I kinda wrote it on the spot. Anyway, for those of you who may be following my other stories I have great news for you! I'm almost done with the next chapter of my story Three Nations at Hogwarts. It's a much longer chapter than what I usually write, so I hope you enjoy it! Don't forget to check out J Gemstone's and and AlphonseLover13's stories. Until next time ;)**_

 _ **~~J. Gemstone: As for my explanation, well...Luxia got the chapter in to me on Friday; however, my Internet was sadly kaput for the day :/. As an apology, expect another quick chapter soon!~~**_


	13. Revelations

13\. Revelations

As her friends nodded, Mariana braced herself to tell them, but found herself resisting a smile as she drew in a deep breath. What a dramatic moment! She couldn't help wondering how they'd react to the news, but how could she possibly word it? This wouldn't be easy on them. Smile disappearing, she decided to be honest: it would be difficult for them to find out their friend was a double-agent. "I joined them."

"Wait a minute," Alex sounded shocked, "What do you MEAN, 'you joined them'?!" Talitha stood dumbstruck while her sister handled the questioning. Mariana's heart skipped a beat while she raised a hand, stopping herself from putting it over Alex's mouth.

"Shhh" she whispered, flicking her eyes around to check possible hiding places, "we have eyes and ears everywhere, guys." They closed their mouths, dismay evident in their faces. She really felt bad for letting them down this way. "I've said too much, but don't worry—you can trust me."

"How can we, Mariana?" Talitha asked.

"You kind of joined the dark side, here." Alex agreed. Mariana looked around. She doubted the Committee trusted her without surveillance, but she just _had_ to let her friends know the plan. It could potentially fail without them!

"Because I'm your Snape." She explained. Talitha and Alexandra's eyes widened at the reference. Knowing their attention was fixed, Mariana continued. "My ultimate interest is to get the series to progress farther so Speed and X get the hourglass part. From there," she paused for effect, so the gravity could sink in, "we might be able to use it to get home. Let me guide them the right way, and help whenever you can, but whatever you do…lay low. I don't want you guys getting too involved with my side of the story."

"But, Mariana—" the sisters said in unison. Mariana cut them off. They wanted to be in this together. Obviously, they knew she was dancing with death, and they weren't about to let her do it alone. She had to convince them to back off without feeling like they were abandoning her.

"I'll ask if I need anything. In the meantime, too many people involved equals too high a risk of exposure. I can't pull this off— _we_ cannot do this—unless _I'm_ working from the inside out. Trust me on this."

Alex and Talitha pressed their lips into thin lines. They wanted to help.

"I guess I can understand that," Talitha conceded, "but we _have_ help in some way, Mariana." She looked Mariana dead in the eyes, blue steel meeting copper brown.

"Yeah," Alex agreed, eyes determined, "we can't just sit by while you stick your neck out for us!"

"Alright, then." Mariana sighed, lowering her gaze, then lifting it up again to meet theirs. "You can both help by doing what you're doing."

It was dangerous enough to become friends with Speed and his crew, but it would be worse if they directly tangled with the Committee. _I'd die if they found me out,_ she acknowledged, _but I'm surely not about to take my friends with me._ Still, she needed someone who was in on her plan to directly _help_ the Racer family. If she crossed the line and actually became _detrimental_ to the Committee, she would easily be kicked out.

The girls' conversation ended when they all heard the revving of engines. They sounded powerful, like the roars of some vicious lions. Speed Jr. was driving Talitha's car to the starting line. Behind him was Mariana's car—an aqua blue machine with dark blue topside and sky blue accents. The general shape of it reminded her of a Bugatti Veyron.

 _Nice_ , Mariana thought admiringly as she gazed appreciatively at it, clasping her hands and squealing a little. She even bounced on her heels a bit, _though the Batmobile's edginess kind of tops the shape._ Talitha's car did look very much like the Batmobile, except emerald green with electric blue lightning motifs on its sides. These cars could have made Mariana _like_ driving, for a change!

 _ **~~We do not own Speed Racer: The Next Generation.~~**_


	14. Fun with Puns

**Hey guys! AL13 (that nickname is growing on me, Jonquil) reporting a new chapter for your enjoyment! Nothing much else to say. Oh, wait, we do not own** _ **Speed Racer: The Next Generation**_ **. Ah, good to be back!**

14\. Fun with Puns!

When Alex saw the cars her sister and friend would be driving, she was instantly jealous. She wanted a Batmobile, too! Well, she had to learn how to drive first. Her father took her to the high school parking lot once, but it was more of learning what everything was for. Speed stepped out and smiled when he saw the expressions on the girls' faces, Connor following close by.

"Talitha, Mariana, come with us. We'll get you settled in and we'll see what you can do."

Alex was instantly nervous. Not because her sister was a bad driver, but because she drove a normal car. This was a _race_ car! Who knew what could happen? At least she would be getting lessons.

Mariana and Talitha smiled and nodded enthusiastically, eyes shining. Speed led them down and let them settle into their new surroundings. Speed helped Mariana while Connor helped Talitha. After explaining the basics, just in case they needed it, Speed and Connor joined Alex in watching. Alex then remembered that Spritle mentioned some kind of dance. She furrowed her eyebrows. _What does that have to do with racing?_ she asked herself.

"Hey, Speedy Gonzales," Alex said.

"Hm," he said, turning to face Alex with a confused expression.

"Spritle mentioned some kind of dance that I could go to. What's that about? It doesn't sound like it has anything to do with racing."

"Oh, yeah. Well, he decided to host three invitational races at the school. He thought it was a good idea to host a dance as well, since other students will be here."

Alex nodded her head. She put her hand to her chin, a habit she did when she was thinking. She was pulled out of her thoughts when she saw her sister's car shoot across the track. Mariana was following close behind. Alex's jaw dropped. Her sister and friend looked like they had been racing for years instead of minutes. Speed and Connor looked just as shocked.

"Is this their first time driving a race car?" Connor asked, pointing towards them.

"Yeah," was all Alex said in response, too shocked to conjure anything else to say. Suddenly her head perked up. "Hey, Connor! Can I call you Repair Boy?"

"Sure?" Connor answered, though it came out more like a question. "Wait, are you giving us nicknames?"

"Yeah." was Alex's reply.

"Then, what's Lucy's?" Connor asked excitedly.

"Probably Mother Hen since she seems to act much like a mother."

Connor laughed and even Speed couldn't help but smile. Alex was just so weird! Soon they diverted their attention back to the track.

It looked like Talitha and Mariana were having a little mini race. They went around the course a few times before stopping, Talitha being the victor by a few inches. Alex, Speed, and Connor all _raced_ down, Speed getting there first, of course. Speed and Connor helped them out of their cars.

"That was awesome!" was the first thing Talitha said.

Mariana nodded in agreement, "That was amazing."

"How did you guys do that?" Alex asked, astonished.

Both girls shrugged.

"I just let my hands guide me." Mariana answered.

"You guys must be _exhausted_!" Alex exclaimed, making everyone look at her with a blank face. "No, I guess I have to be _Ford Focus_ next time!"

The only sound that was heard was Talitha sighing at her younger sister.

"Well," Speed said, clearing his throat. "Connor, you can show Mariana and Talitha the basics of the virtual track-" both girls perked up at the mention of the track. "-and I can start teaching Alex here how to drive."

"Sure, no problem Speed!" Connor said, giving his friend a thumbs up. Speed nodded and motioned Alex to follow him.

"So," Alex began, after walking in silence for some time. "Are we going to a classroom or…" she trailed off.

"No," Speed said, with a smile. "First, I'm going to teach you the basics of driving. So, you'll be in the car while I explain the functions."

Alex nodded, "What car are we using?"

"Well, you'll see." was all he replied, leaving Alex nervous.

After walking some more they stopped by a door. Speed opened it slowly. What was inside made her eyes widen.

"Alexandra, say hello to the Mach 6!"

 **Cliffhanger! Hope you all like it! Never race against Talitha or Mariana. Sorry for all of the puns. I feel really** _ **punny**_ **today. I thought it was quiet** _ **humerus**_ **. Hehehe…. I'll stop now.**

 _ **~~I think the last one broke my funny bone…~~**_


	15. Virtual Reality-Check

15\. Virtual Reality-Check

Talitha was still full of energy due to the adrenaline rushing through her. Her hands were shaking slightly with her excess energy and excitement. She never knew racing could be so terrifying and fun at the same time! _I can't wait to try out the virtual track,_ Talitha thought to herself. She looked over at Mariana and saw that she also had excess energy. Talitha returned the wide smile that Mariana was wearing. It was nice to temporarily forget the Committee and just have some plain old fun.

Talitha was broken out of her thoughts when Connor slightly cleared his throat. His eyes were sparkling as he was about to explain the virtual track.

"Since we're not allowed to activate the virtual track any time we want, I'll just have to tell you directly what it is." Connor told them. Talitha and Mariana nodded. Talitha noticed that Mariana was trying to hold back the fact that she already knew about the virtual track. Talitha slightly motioned to Mariana to not help Connor with his explanation. After all, it would look very suspicious if they already had such advanced knowledge of something they've never heard of before.

"The virtual track is pretty much exactly as it sounds like. It transports drivers to the Virtual World so they can race in a safe setting with no fear of dying in a crash." as Connor was explaining this, Talitha couldn't help but think of Digimon when he mentioned the Virtual World, "When a car is about to crash, the virtual track sends them back to the real world unscathed. One of the greatest aspects of the track is that it can create any type of track. You can even program it to race on the Moon!" After his explanation, Connor suddenly appeared to be less enthusiastic, "I could show it to you, but then I would get in huge trouble."

"Don't worry, we understand," Mariana told Connor, "it was very nice of you to explain it for us so we're not surprised the first time we use it."

"Yeah, now you've actually managed to get me excited for school, which is no easy feat." Talitha encouraged Connor. He looked much happier at the praise he was getting. Then, something occurred to Talitha.

"By the way, do you know what type of dance we are going to soon?" Talitha asked Connor. It was very important to her to know how she should dress at this event. Mariana also expressed her wish to know whether or not the dance was casual or formal.

"It'll be a semi-formal dance because we while we are having students from other schools attend, their headmasters are also coming for the races that will be taking place over the next few days." Connor told them with a smile.

 _Semi-formal, hm,_ Talitha thought to herself. _Wait a minute, I don't have anything else to wear!_ Talitha turned to Mariana to ask her where they were going to find clothes. The slight panic on her face must have been apparent because it got Connor's attention.

"What's wrong, Talitha?" Connor asked when he saw Talitha's slightly panicked look. Talitha quickly composed herself and told him that she didn't have anything with her except the clothes she was wearing now.

"Don't worry, I'm sure we can just ask my flower Annalise if she can buy some clothes for you." Connor replied.

"I would prefer to ask Lucy first than to have to deal with Annalise's attitude." Talitha replied. Behind her, she could feel Mariana's disapproval at that statement.

"Do you know Annalise?" Connor asked, looking confused. _Shoot!_ Talitha thought as she realized her mistake.

"What makes you say that?" Talitha asked in a high pitched, nervous voice.

"How would you know about my flower's attitude if you've never met her?" Talitha was just about to answer when she heard Alex scream her name by the track. All three of looked over to find Alex screaming with joy in the open window of the Mach 6. Talitha was never very jealous of her sister, but in that moment, she felt hot anger towards her sister for getting to ride in the Mach 6.

 _ **~~We do not own Speed Racer: the Next Generation.~~**_

 _ **~~Venus Luxia was good enough to write her chapter earlier, since I will be gone for the weekend. Thank you, Luxia!~~**_


	16. Annalise, This Could Be Worse

16\. Annalise, This Could Be Worse

After watching Speed train Alexandra for a while, Mariana decided it was best to go seek out Annalise. Talitha and Alex needed dresses, after all.

"I believe you needed a dress, Talitha?" she turned to her 'new' friend.

"Huh? Oh, yes. Don't tell me you have spare clothes!" Talitha's eyes widened.

"Actually, I don't even have money, let alone dresses," Mariana smiled, "but I figured I would help you find one. Maybe this Annalise won't be so bad, if Connor likes her so much." She turned to the redheaded mechanic, moving on as if she didn't know the first thing about anyone there. "I hope I'm not prying, but are you dating her?" Immediately, Connor's face went red and he pressed a hand to the back of his neck.

"Well, um…" he explained, "not exactly—in the traditional sense of the word. Um, you see, she's a little bit, um, aloof. Yeah, that's it!" Having his reason straightened out, he stood tall and was more confident in speaking. "She just doesn't recognize that we belong together, but she will in time—I'm sure of it!"

"In your dreams, monkey boy!" A familiar voice cut in on the conversation, and there stood Annalise Zazich: daughter of the notorious Zyle Zazich, and fairly recent convert to the Racer side after having been caught up with the Shadow Committee. Because she and her father were only pawns in their game, she knew practically nothing about them except their logo and the fact their apparent leader was a woman. "Now, what is Speed doing, giving rides to total strangers?!" she put her hands on her hips. As usual, she was irked. "Didn't he learn _anything_ from my cousin?"

"He's just teaching my sister how to drive." Talitha defended their benefactor.

"She, her sister, and I are auditioning for scholarships soon," Mariana spared Talitha the trouble of 'dealing with Annalise's attitude', as she put it so ahead of time, "but for now we were figuring out how to get dresses for the Blackwell sisters—that's them." At her name, Talitha waved hello to the rich girl.

"So," Connor scooted closer to Annalise's side like a lovestruck puppy while the latter simply rolled her eyes, "I told them they could ask you to buy some for them!"

"You did _what_?" she thundered, causing her personal fanboy to cower behind Chim Chim. The monkey (who had been watching that whole time) facepalmed at how easily his creator was frightened by 'his flower'. "Connor, you can't just refer someone to a shopping spree without their permission! Oh, well. At least I actually _enjoy_ shopping." Annalise moved closer to Talitha and circled her observantly. "Hm…" she mused, "I think most colors would look nice on you, and you're tall enough for long dresses…I know the perfect place!"

"Do you mind if I tag along? I barely know anyone, but you and your friends seem like nice people." Mariana wasn't so sure about the 'you' part, but as a character she knew Annalise was good at heart, if not a little grumpy and slightly petty.

"You do?" Annalise appeared a little surprised at first, but she regained her composure and said "Fine, if you really want to."

"Awesome!"

"Wow, thanks, Annalise!" Talitha gratefully accepted the help. Everyone heard the Mach 6 come to a halt, and the doors opened. "Hey, Alex! Guess what!"

"What?" Alexandra's face was already flushed with excitement about having ridden in the legendary Mach 6.

"Annalise is about to take us dress shopping!"

 _ **~~So, there you have it: we finally got to meet Annalise Zazich! After the dress shopping, the real story begins, so stay tuned ;D!~~**_

 _ **~~Feel free to check out my**_ _ **YouTube channel**_ _ **, where I post original content! Also take a good look at**_ _ **Venus Luxia**_ _ **and**_ _ **AlphonseLover13**_ _ **'s other stories!~~**_

 _ **~~We do not own Speed Racer: the Next Generation.~~**_


	17. Shopping with a Hint of Kindness

17\. Shopping with a Hint Of Kindness

Okay, Alex had to be honest. The idea of going shopping with Annalise was less than appealing. She never liked the girl in the show. To be fair, though, Alex didn't really remember her. At all. Her explanation was that she disliked Annalise so much, she erased her from her mind palace, like Sherlock. Yes, she had one. Alex had too much time on her hands.

Getting back on topic, Alex smiled and nodded anyway. She knew that they needed dresses, and maybe being friends with her would help them in the long run. Walking towards them she introduced herself to Annalise.

"Hello, Ms. Zazich. My name is Alexandra Blackwell, it is an honor to meet you."

Talitha looked at Alex in shock. She was never so formal to anyone. Even Annalise seemed shocked at first before looking at Alex with a smile.

"I'm sure it is, Alex, but call me Annalise."

Talitha now knew what Alex was doing: going sweet on Annalise to get on her good side. That might come in handy later.

"Of course, Annalise. I would like to personally thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to help us."

And they were off. Connor was allowed to come with them since Alex helped Annalise be in a better mood. Once in the shop, they immediately headed for the dresses. Annalise took charge and told everyone where to go. Talitha to the green, Mariana to the purple, Alex to the blue, and Connor to quote, 'Stay as far away from her as possible.' Which, in Connor's mind, meant to stay as close to her as possible. They would all meet back at that location when they were done.

"Actually, can I go to the green?" Mariana suddenly said as they were about to leave. "Green is my favorite color."

Now, Alex was confused; green was _not_ Mariana's favorite color. What was she up too?

Annalise hesitated. "I guess that's fine. Talitha do you mind going to the purple?"

"Not at all." Talitha replied.

"Okay then, everyone know where to go? I'll just wander around until I find the right dress."

"Any dress here would look amazing on you, flower!" Conor said, trailing behind Annalise. Alex sighed.

With that, they were finally on their way to find a dress. Alex just wandered around the complex until she ran into one she liked. She finally did when she saw a knee length, short sleeve royal blue dress covered in lace, with the top being only lace and the rest having a solid royal blue underneath the lace. It was simple, yet elegant. Alex took it and went into the changing room. When she looked in the mirror, she actually thought that she looked good. Although, she frowned. What would she do with her hair? She grabbed the extra hair tie from her pant pocket and put her hair in a bun, with a few stands at the front hanging down.

She nodded to herself, happy she found a dress on the first try. Now, the only issue was the price. How would she pay for it? Maybe she could get Annalise to buy it for her. She seemed to like Alex upon her first impression. Hopefully, she wouldn't mind. That's when Alex heard Annalise shout at Connor to leave her alone. _Well,_ Alex thought. _It's now or never._

Once Alex exited the changing room, she met face to face with Annalise, who was holding a pile of dresses. Annalise gasped, causing Alex to be confused.

"Alexandra," Annalise started, before pausing and continuing, eyes shining. "You look beautiful! I knew blue would be just the right color for you!"

Alex blushed profusely, not used to this kind of praise. "Thank you, Annalise. That means a lot coming from you."

The best part was, Alex wasn't faking. Annalise just called her beautiful! Alex was starting to wonder why she hated her now. She seemed nice if you got past her attitude at first.

Alex then sighed. "I just wish I could buy it."

"What do you mean?" Annalise asked.

"Well, since my sister and I are orphans we have no money."

Annalise looked liked she was having an internal conflict. Then she nodded, seemingly coming to a conclusion. She went to the price tag and seemed surprised.

"Well then, Alex, that means I just have to buy it for you. It's not that expensive and I get a discount here for coming so often. If your sister's is not too expensive, I buy the dress for her too. How about I just pay for all of your dresses? I can't let you two orphans go without something fashionable to wear. And Mariana's just one more person."

Alex was shocked. She slowly started to smile with tears in her eyes. "Annalise, I don't know what to say…"

"It's my gift to you guys. You go wait for the others while I try on my dresses"

Alex nodded, gathered her clothes (she was still wearing her converse. She decided that they looked good with the dress) and was quickly on her way to the meeting spot.

Once she was there, she saw Talitha and Connor fangirling/fanboying (what do you call it when both genders are involved? Fangoying?) over Speed Sr. again, and Mariana was playing with her dress. They both decided to get floor length dresses because of their height. Talitha had a flowing, strapless purple dress with gemstones around the waist. Mariana also had on a flowing dress, although hers was emerald green and had sleeves that went to the elbow. Alex waved and they returned the gesture. Annalise showed up not long after wearing the same pink dress that she wore in the show.

"Ok, Alex told me of your circumstances and I decided that the dresses will be on me." Annalise announced, surprising Maiana and Talitha. "So, let's change back and buy them." Everyone nodded in agreement and rushed back to change. They bought them and were on their way back.

Alex was excited. Now the plot was starting to unfold! Maybe once they were done there, they would be able to go home? Alex shook her head. Now was not the time to think about that: she had to focus on the present.

 **Gosh, this was a long chapter. I wanted to get the shopping out of the way so the plot can finally start! See you guys next time!**

 _ **~~*clapping* Thank you, AlphonseLover13! We do not own Speed Racer: the Next Generation, but we should. Let's pool our funds! Never mind...I like fanfictioning ;).~~**_


	18. Trouble on the Track

18\. Trouble on the Track

As she was leaving the store with everyone else, Talitha was bursting with excitement. She didn't have the opportunity to wear floor length dresses very often, but when she did, she thoroughly enjoyed it. There was also the fact she would get to see her first Speed Racer race in person. It was fun to watch exciting sports from the screen of a TV, but it was a whole different experience to be there in person. Talitha started reminiscing about her parents taking her and her sister to American college football stadiums. The roars of the crowd and the atmosphere were completely different than watching it on TV. Talitha hoped it would be the same with the race. She just wished she remembered more about this episode.

They arrived quickly back to the school with some chatting with the occupants of their shopping excursion. Talitha smiled as she remembered the day. She enjoyed her time with Connor, and was glad that Annalise was so kind to her and her sister. Talitha yawned loudly and Alex was quick to follow. They were both tired with a day full of shopping. Mariana also looked tired from the day. Now that Talitha thought of it, they got a ton done that day. She traveled to a different dimension, met Spritle Racer, Speed Racer Jr., and a bunch of other characters from the show, raced with Mariana, and then went dress shopping. Talitha knew deep down, this would be the most productive day in her life.

When they reached the dormitories, they saw Lucy waiting for them at the entrance to the girl's dorms.

"Headmaster Spritle managed to get two dorms for you guys. I can show you the way if you want." Lucy told us as we got closer to the dorms.

"Yes, please" Talitha said, the tone in her voice indicated that she was tired to the bone.

"No problem," Lucy replied while she handed Talitha and Mariana the keys to their respective dorms. Annalise broke off from the group to go to her own dorm. After a short walk with silence considering most of the students were already sleeping, they arrived at their dorms. Talitha and Alex's dorm was on the right side of the hallway and Mariana's dorm was directly opposite to it.

"Alright, this is your dorm, Mariana." Lucy pointed to the door.

"Thank you for taking me here." Mariana thanked Lucy with a slight nod, and then retreated into her dorm for the night.

"Here's your room, Talitha and Alex. I hope you two don't mind sharing a dorm." She showed Talitha and Alex the dorm while she explained. They both thanked Lucy

"Don't worry, we won't be at each other's throats too much." Alex told Lucy. Talitha nodded in agreement, too tired to argue with her sister. They went into the dorm, and after putting up her dress in the closet, Talitha immediately fell asleep on her pillow.

 ****************LINEBREAK*************************

Talitha woke in the morning, excited for the race she was about to see. After quickly waking up her sister, Talitha got dressed in fresh clothes. While Alex was getting dressed, Talitha went to go see if Mariana wanted to head down to the track with them. However, Talitha received no response when she knocked on the door. Thinking that Mariana had already gone down to the track or was doing some Shadow Committee business, Talitha allowed it to not bother her. Talitha was uneasy about something: she knew that something was supposed to happen at the race, but she couldn't remember what it was.

"Are you ready to head down to the track yet, Alex?" Talitha called to her sister.

"Hold on a minute! I have to find the map." Alex yelled back. Talitha sighed. Only Alex could lose a map they had just received from Spritle with virtually no possessions in the room. After a few minutes of searching, Alex came out looking victorious with the map in her hand. Talitha sent her a deadpan look and they headed down to the track while only getting lost five times along the way. _We're lucky the students here are so friendly, or we would never get there_ Talitha thought. They finally reached the track just in time for the race to start. They managed to actually find some decent seats to watch the race.

The atmosphere of the race track did not disappoint Talitha, it was nearly that of a college football stadium. She had to give the students here credit, though: it was hard to match up to a stadium full with 108,000 screaming fans. Talitha felt a sharp pain in her rib, apparently Alex was trying to get her attention.

"What do you want?" Talitha tried to not sound too annoyed, but it was hard considering her sister just elbowed her in the rib.

"I found Mariana," Alex answered with the same annoyed tone in her voice. She pointed to a part of the track that Talitha had not looked at yet. Mariana was sitting a great distance away, looking worried about something. An uneasy feeling settled upon Talitha.

"Hey, do you remember which episode this was?" Talitha asked her sister.

"Uh,...no" Alex squeaked out her answer.

Talitha went into deep thought. _What happened in this episode, it's on the tip of my tongue._ Talitha was torn out of her thoughts when the race was getting started. She quickly spotted Speed in the Mach 6 as the the arches for the virtual track opened up the Virtual World. When the race started, Talitha completely forgot about her worries. She was watching the race without a worry in the world; that was until the Mach 6 started to malfunction. _Oh, so that's what happened in this episode._


	19. On Track

_**~~Unfortunately, I did not have the time to rewatch this episode, so forgive me for unreasonable deviations you may see in here. Now, to get back…~~**_

19\. On Track

Mariana grimaced slightly when Speed's car "malfunctioned". Of course, she knew what was going on: it was sabotage from Handles' operation. She listened with frank annoyance as the announcer narrated the drama. She was anxious to get out there and help! Sadly, the most she could do was act concerned and help repair the damage…unless…

 _That's it!_ She had a lightbulb moment. Mariana looked around until she saw Alexandra following Talitha towards the track. Unfortunately, she also saw the pair of blonde twins whose names began with "J". _I need to be careful,_ she told herself, _they may be imbeciles, but they work for us._ She referred to the Committee as her side for the purpose of keeping the act in full swing at all times. The last thing she needed was to be caught off-guard by her so-called allies.

Shooting the twins a shy yet hopefully adorable wave, she trotted to catch up with the Blackwell sisters and tapped Alex on the shoulder.

"Alex! Follow my lead, alright?" she whispered.

"What do you need me to do?" Alex whispered back. She sounded wary, and Mariana didn't blame her in the least. When a double agent asked a whispered favor, it usually meant taking a massive risk.

"Nothing too dangerous," Mariana reassured her while Talitha hurried ahead, "just congratulate the winner, Alpha Leader. He's a nice guy, too."

"That's it?" Alexandra's shoulders relaxed (Mariana had no idea they tensed up!) "That sounds easy enough."

"Yes, this one's easy." Mariana nodded slightly. "Just emphasize sportsmanship and winning fairly. I think you can do it."

"Thanks. I'll try." Alexandra picked up her pace, and the two caught up to Talitha before they reached the Mach 6.

"Oh, my goodness!" Mariana reacted to the sight of the smoking vehicle, accidentally cutting off Connor's explanation of what went wrong. It was an inexplicable issue with the engine's machinery, which was fine before the race started. "Is everyone alright? Speed, tell me you're not injured." Speed nodded and ran a hand through his wavy brown hair.

"Yeah," he said, "I just don't know what went wrong. The Mach 6 was fine before the race—I checked right before it started!"

"What could have happened?" Talitha thought aloud.

"I honestly don't know," Connor scratched his head, "but I'm pretty sure I can fix it before the next invitational race."

"I'll just…go congratulate the winner because…sportsmanship and…winning fairly and so on. Right?" Alex winked at Mariana, who had never wanted so desperately to facepalm.

"I guess he did win fair and square." Speed agreed, "I'll go with you!"

"I'll stay and help Connor." Lucy said. Mariana stared, dumbfounded, as Alex led Speed away without him suspecting a single thing. "Hey, Mariana, do you want to stay and help with the Mach 6? We need the engine working again by the next race." Lucy asked her to help with the super-advanced technology every villain in the series wanted to either take or destroy…as if she was asking a friend what color shoes went with her outfit.

 _They're lucky I'm not actually the villain._ Mariana couldn't help thinking as she helped Lucy, Connor, Chim-Chim, and Talitha take the Mach 6 to its garage. _They'd be toast if I was, by now!_ She would have had a headache, but her brain simply died as though short-circuited.

 _ **~~We do not own Speed Racer: The Next Generation. I would have made them much more vigilant.~~**_


	20. And the Winner Is

20\. And the Winner Is…

Alex was quite glad she didn't have to go alone. If she remembered correctly, this guy was not one you wanted to mess with. She and Speed saw him still by his car, leaning against it. The crowds disappeared a little while beforehand.

Alex looked at Speed. "It was nice for you to come with me to congratulate the winner, Speed."

Speed smiled back. "It was for you, too. We should always support one another."

They approached Alpha, the leader with the most ridiculous name ever. He saw them and surprisingly smiled

 _Well, he seems jolly,_ Alex thought.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, sounding excited to see them. Although, it seemed to be directed more to Speed than Alex.

"We just wanted to congratulate you on a race well won... done?" Alex said, having not thought of what to say beforehand.

That happened to Alex a lot. She had a rough draft of what she wanted to say in her mind, but she said it without it going through the filter first.

Alpha looked at her and smiled. "I was just doing my best."

"You handled that car perfectly." Alex replied.

"Yeah," Speed agreed. "You did great! You won fair and square."

Alpha fidgeted a little when Speed said that, which made Alex uncomfortable. He was the bad guy, right? He should've been happy he beat Speed. She decided to consult Mariana and Talitha on this matter, so she quickly said one last 'congrats' before leaving and ushering Speed to come with her.

Speed looked at her, confused. "What was that? I thought you wanted to say congratulations." he asked her.

Alex quickly answered. "I thought that we should help everyone else with the Mach 6." _Plus, I need to ask Mariana and Talitha about the way a certain man was acting. I don't know if that is how he acts normally or not._

Speed nodded, accepting her answer immediately. Alex just hoped that nothing else would go horribly wrong, but as any action movie ever made said, something would. She was not looking forward to it.

 _ **~~We do not own Speed Racer: the Next Generation (Alpha Leader? What kind of name IS that?)~~**_


	21. Time to Get Serious

21\. Time to Get Serious

Well, the Mach 6 was fixed, and the next invitational race was coming up soon. If memory served Mariana correctly, there were to be three in total. Alpha Leader was bound to feel more and more uncomfortable with obeying Handles' orders to shoot the Mach 6 with the Committee's laser, until eventually he would confess to Lucy.

 _But by then,_ Mariana brooded over her lunch the following day, _it will be far too late. If Handles finds out…_ He'd be toast, and Lucy would be kidnapped. That's how she remembered it, anyways.

"Hey, Mariana!" Talitha walked over to her table with her own lunch tray.

"Hi, Talitha!" She smiled at her friend, brushing away her side-bangs. Talitha and Alexandra both sat across from her at the lunch table.

"Hello, there!" Alexandra greeted her in a highly insulting British accent, grey eyes shining proudly. The mission to guilt-trip Alpha must have worked well. After a moment, Alexandra frowned. "I have something to ask you about."

"Oh, hey, guys!" Speed, Lucy, and Connor approached with beaming faces. Speed set his tray down next to Mariana. "Are these seats taken?"

"Go ahead and sit down!" Mariana giggled and smiled at the trio.

"Thanks." Speed sat. Lucy took the place next to him, and Connor sat next to Talitha so they could chatter some more. Apparently, those two had a lot in common.

"Yeah, thanks." Lucy echoed. "And thanks for helping with the Mach 6, too. It was a big help."

"No problem!" Alex, Talitha, and Mariana all said at once.

"It was really interesting to see how it works!" Mariana said earnestly. "You must be some sort of genius to put it together, Connor!"

"I am? I mean, of course I am!" Connor puffed his chest out proudly. "Of course, Speed Racer is the one who designed it. It was like following a recipe!" Here he raised a white-gloved finger. "A super high-tech recipe that's never been successfully achieved before in all of racing history." He high-fived Chim Chim, who stood by his shoulder.

"Exactly." Mariana chuckled again. She needed a progress report to give her contacts at the dance. The fact they let her work on the engine and told her about the missing part was perfect, and not too endangering for them.

"There you guys are!" They all turned to see X Racer approaching. "You weren't at the usual spot."

"Yeah, don't ditch us like that again." Annalise followed close by, wearing her usual red dress. They both sat next to Alex. "Oh, it's you again! Move over X." she brightened up when she saw the younger Blackwell sister. "I want to sit next to her!"

"But I don't wanna get up." X took a nonchalant bite from his cheap school-burger. "You should've sat here to begin with."

"Come on, X, don't be a jerk about it!" Annalise placed her hands on her hips.

"Oh, I suppose _Alpha Leader_ would be a total sweetheart about it, wouldn't he?" X was clearly upset in a jealous way.

"Well, maybe he would!" she retorted.

"Settle down, you two!" Lucy chided them like a mother hen. Talitha and Alex looked at Mariana with looks begging for answers.

 _Do they remember this phase?_ Mariana wondered. They didn't watch this show as avidly as she had. "Don't worry: they'll make up eventually." Mariana decided to say aloud, eating her burger and sipping orange juice. It was true, too. They had a phase where X was jealous of Alpha because he was handsome, sweet, and cool, but they made up after Annalise went to the dance with Alpha instead of him.

"Mariana's right." Lucy saved her from having to speak up. "X and Annalise, you shouldn't take this argument too seriously. Everybody fights sometimes."

"Yeah." Speed agreed. "Now calm down and eat your burgers."

After a while of eating, Mariana noticed X staring at her right wrist, then Alex and Talitha's dominant wrists.

 _Does he suspect…?_ She wondered. _He'll ask about it soon._

"If you guys just met each other," X asked, "then why do you have matching bracelets?" That was it—the moment she expected. Before Talitha or Alex could speak in a panic, Mariana widened her eyes.

"Wait a minute, what?" she sounded perplexed to everyone there. "Let me see." She gently pulled the Blackwell sisters' wrists so she could see the stones on their bracelets, one by one. Talitha's was deep emerald, and Alexandra's was peridot-colored. _Interesting…_ "Where on Earth…" she asked as though astounded, "did you get these wristbands?"

"Um…" Alex tried to answer.

"Well, you see," Talitha sounded much calmer, "we got them at—"

"Walmart!" Alex cut in, receiving a deadpan stare from her sister. "What? It's true! Some nice guy gave us money…and…when we saw them, they were so pretty, we just had to buy them! Yeah, that's it."

"Hang on a second," X crossed his arms and waved a hand in the air, "you're saying that you—a pair of homeless orphans—spent actual money on _bracelets_ instead of food or clothing?"

"It was a lot of money." Alex explained, staring at her tray. Talitha facepalmed beside her. "I'll shut up now."

"Well, that explains it!" Mariana laughed, kicking back in her seat and crossing her legs. "I got mine from a friend a couple of years ago. She said it would bring me luck and help me remember my time with her and her family."

"Aw, that's so nice!" Lucy gushed at the story. "Now you leave them alone, X."

"Fine, I will." X sighed, his suspicions allayed for the moment.

As lunch continued and everyone laughed, bickered, and ate, Mariana kept remembering that upon the next race, Speed would get disruptor-beamed again. Alpha _had_ to get guilty sooner without Handles Moustache finding out. The action needed to be propelled forwards. A dark determination settled over Mariana. Her friends were counting on getting home, and her family needed her back soon.

 _No matter how many strings I have to pull,_ she embraced her newfound role of the Snape-character, _I will succeed in my goal. The hourglass will soon be in Speed's hands, and we'll go home soon._ It was time to step up her game and get serious! She ate applesauce with purpose that day…and it tasted like victory.

 _ **~~I could not resist the lure of that final sentence…the paragraph was too cliché for me not to use the opportunity.~~**_

 _ **~~We do not own Speed Racer: The Next Generation…but we type with purpose, and it reads like victory.~~**_


	22. Taking the Lead

22\. Taking the Lead

As expected, the Mach 6 experienced yet another "malfunction" at the next race. The reaction was very much the same as before. This time, Mariana went to greet Alpha after his ill-claimed victory.

"Well done, Alpha Leader!" she smiled at him and extended a hand. "My name's Mariana Talon. Can I just say what an amazing racer you are?" Alpha smiled and accepted the handshake. It felt firm and confident at first.

"Oh, uh…gee, thanks, ma'am. I was just, you know…" he gulped, uncomfortable with the compliment. "I hope you're not offering me a sponsorship or anything." Mariana tilted her head until she realized he thought she was some sort of adult!

"I'm actually a student here" she explained, laughing more heartily than she had all that day.

"Really?" Alpha started laughing right along with her. "I'm so sorry about that. I thought you were a sponsor looking for someone to go professional!"

"Don't worry: a lot of people mistake me for an adult. The truth is, I'm only seventeen!" They laughed a while longer. "I just wish Speed could have given you a greater challenge. After all, it must be frustrating for your best opponent to lose because of some freak malfunction. Imagine if that was you!"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Oh, I don't mean anything! It's just, well…I'm new here, and Speed has been a really good friend to me. It's just hard for me to see him agonize over what could be happening to his car, you know?"

"Oh, don't worry about that! Um…" Alpha shifted his feet and seemed to look at someone over Mariana's shoulder.

 _Handles!_ She realized. Who else could he be looking at so apprehensively. "Is something wrong, Alpha?" Just then, Lucy walked over.

"Oh, hey guys!" she greeted merrily. "Mariana, could you help me with something—oh," she noticed who Mariana was talking to, "hi, Alpha!" Mariana recalled Alpha having nit it off with Lucy, but that didn't happen until after the dance…

 _They might just have a special connection like that,_ she reasoned. What Lucy said next made her chest tighten.

"Are you alright?" Lucy asked the nervous racer. Indeed, he looked pale and a bit sweaty. This never happened in the show.

 _Now's my chance,_ Mariana gathered her courage and spoke up. "You can tell us, Alpha. We'll help, whatever it is." Before Alpha could respond, Handles Moustache marched over to the three students, anger flashing through his eyes like lightning.

"What in tarnation is goin' on here?" he bellowed. "You need to get to your garage and spiff up your vehicle, Leader! A winner can't race with a dirty hunk o' junk!"

"Lucy, Mariana," Alpha spouted quickly, "It was a laser! It was no accident—"

"What are ya saying, Leader?" Moustache yelled at his student.

 _What are you thinking?_ Mariana raved in her mind. What stupidity made him confess with Moustache _right there_?

"Hang on a second, what? What does Alpha mean, Headmaster Moustache?" Lucy demanded of the rival school's headmaster.

 _You know full well what he means!_ Mariana felt like screaming. _You don't just let the enemy know you're suspicious, Lucy!_

"Oh, uh, please excuse him, young lady," Handles spoke nicely to her, as if she would ignore his earlier outburst if he seemed nice enough. "The stress of racing, you see, is getting' to him. Not to mention this Sun! I actually fried an egg on my hat fer breakfast this morning!" He chuckled and started leading Alpha away. "C'mon, sonny, let's get you outta this heat."

"Oh, very well, then," Mariana tried leading Lucy away. This was too dangerous for her to be caught in yet. "We hope he feels better soon." She was about to whisper a warning into Lucy's ear to keep quiet, sort of like how Handles was undoubtedly doing to Alpha, but in a much friendlier way…but Lucy was still inexperienced in the art of scrutiny.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Lucy whirled to face Handles, causing him to stop in his tracks and look back at her. "What are you gonna do to Alpha?"

"Like I said, get 'im outta this heat. Now if you don't mind, we'll just be going now."

"We ought to let him be, Lucy." Mariana tried to dissuade her. _She brings up a good point, though,_ she realized, _Alpha might get hurt, after all._ He was relatively expendable: Handles could simply find another way to test the Committee's device.

"You should listen to your friend and mind your own business…before ya get hurt" his voice was a hiss.

"Well, _now_ I'm suspicious" Mariana crossed her arms and gave Handles an instinctual 'you fool' look.

"Yeah, so am I" Lucy agreed. "We're calling the police." Mariana facepalmed.

BRIEF TIME SKIP~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Why did you tell him?" this time, Mariana did say it aloud. She and Lucy were in the back of Handles' car, Lucy tied up and gagged. Alpha Leader was on the track with a prerecorded message.

"Why aren't _you_ tied up?" Lucy communicated not with words, but with facial expressions. In this case, she raised an eyebrow and mumbled through the white cloth covering her mouth.

"Because I went _willingly_ to make sure he kept his promise of not harming you" Mariana crossed her arms as if she was explaining something obvious for the umpteenth time. "Now, as for why I'm not freeing you right away, I know we won't be able to escape _now_ because the vehicle is _moving_ —too fast for us to just tuck 'n' roll, by the way; not to mention, the doors are child-locked, so I can't even open them. Our best bet is to hope Speed and the others come to rescue us." She didn't even bother whispering. What would have been the point anymore?

Handles drove wordlessly and with a nonchalant expression. Looking at him, one might have guessed he was on his way to the bank or the grocery store. Checking his rearview mirror, he must've seen someone, for he started talking to thin air.

"Y'all think you can catch Handles…" he chuckled and flexed his fingers, "This ain't my first rodeo, partners!"

 _ **~~Yesterday was St. Patrick's Day, so Luxia, AL13, and I all took a day off. I'm sorry if we kept you waiting!~~**_

 _ **~~We do not own Speed Racer: the Next Generation.~~**_


	23. High-Speed Chase

23\. High Speed Chase

The following minutes felt like hours as Handles floored it and tried to shake Speed and the others. Through the rear window, Mariana saw X and Alpha's cars: a black vehicle with a white "X" on the hood and a red-and-yellow bulkier car. To her slight shock, she witnessed Talitha driving her green-and-blue Batmobile in a high-speed chase on precarious, winding roads. One wrong move, and anyone could have toppled off a cliff with little to no hope of survival!

Every once in a while, Mariana and Lucy were jostled around in the back seats. There were weapons, there were stunts, and there were near-misses and close-calls galore! Much to Lucy's dismay, Handles shook their attempted rescuers.

"Don't worry, Lucy…" Mariana could not help looking and sounding worried. _Are they alright?_ "I'm sure they'll be okay enough to save us." She thought for a moment about what would give Lucy the most confidence. "I haven't known any of you for very long at all—only a couple of days—but I don't think Speed is one to give up so easily." Lucy nodded and looked at her gratefully.

"Well, ain't that more touchin' than a hound-dog findin' a spare biscuit on a cold winter's night," Handles drawled sarcastically. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I got myself a call to make." There, right in front of his hostage and _secret_ ally, Handles Moustache face-timed the shadowy woman from the meeting.

Mariana could have facepalmed while she watched Handles give a full report of the mission to test a disruptive device catered specifically for the Mach 6. _Handles, you imbecile, s_ he seethed. _Right in front of a witness, too!_

"Sorry, little lady," he addressed Lucy after hanging up, "but—"

"She's served her purpose," Mariana cut in, earning a shocked look from Lucy, "and now, thanks to _you_ , we've _both_ heard too much. Sorry, Lucy…" Mariana opened the door and grabbed Lucy by her restraints.

Lucy mumbled something which sounded a bit like "Hey, the doors aren't child-locked! What are you doing?"

"This is for your own good." She whispered. Mariana tossed her as gently as she could, to make sure her friend didn't roll over the cliff to their right. Thankfully, not much was needed to make pushing a screaming girl out of a fast-moving truck seem like an act of total betrayal. She glared grimly at her fellow board member. "You'd better hope for both our sakes she doesn't survive that."

"And if she does?" he challenged.

"Then you're dead, and I'll spin a tale so Speed and the others all think I'm still their friend. Unlike you, Handles, I don't jump the gun. Goodbye, Mr. Moustache." Before she could talk herself out of it, Mariana _jumped out of the moving car_ and tumbled along the road! _Guardian angel, protect me_ was all she could think between the car and the ground. She hit the dusted earth road with a harsh thud and rolled with her arms tucked in front of her. It felt to her like someone could have guided them to that position, or maybe it was instinct. A bit of both? At any rate, she somehow got away with only minor scrapes on her elbows, wrists, and knees. She landed on her back and would have gotten up, and indeed tried to sit up, but all she could do for a while was close her eyes and try moving her body parts. Having no idea what broken ribs felt like, she nonetheless tried feeling for them. Everything was intact, and her head only hurt from the heat of daylight. She breathed heavily until she decided to get up and head back down the winding road. Her entire body felt so sore, the effort was monumental. To her encouragement, the three pursuing vehicles rounded the corner, but only one of them stopped.

In the episode, Speed was delayed because he helped Lucy when she was dangling off a convenient branch on the face of a sheer drop to certain doom. This time, though, the gap between the friendly pursuers and Handles was much smaller. Oddly enough, Speed was the one who pulled over while Alpha and Talitha moved on ahead to capture the kidnapper. Speed stormed over to her, which she actually found rather intimidating.

"What were you doing? Lucy says you _pushed her out of the car_ and are in league with Headmaster Moustache!"

"I can explain everything—"

"And I'd like to hear it!" Speed glared at her. Lucy came out of the car and followed suit with her arms crossed.

"Yeah, so would I." Lucy had a hurt expression on her face. "I thought you were my friend, Mariana. I thought I could trust you!"

"Listen, guys…" Mariana felt terrible: she couldn't even bring herself to meet their eyes for very long. She slumped her shoulders and bowed her head, grabbing her arms and looking off to the side. "it's just not safe now. I'm not sure who might hear us, but know that it's for your own good."

"Nobody's going to hear us out here, Mariana." Speed proclaimed. How he could be sure, she didn't know, but it was clearly no time to refute him on that.

"In that case…I ought to tell you…I've been your double agent this whole time" before they could say anything, she raised a hand for silence. "Hear me out: I wound up in the Shadow Committee's headquarters without knowing why I was there. Then, I made them believe I would spy on you to keep their information progressing. Finally, I made it here and was determined to subtly help you out in any way I could, such as getting Alpha to feel bad enough to say what Handles—I'm sorry, Headmaster Moustache—was up to." She looked at Lucy, almost ready to cry. "I never thought Alpha would say those things while Moustache was right nearby, I swear! I never meant for anyone to get hurt, and was trying to _prevent_ bad things from happening. As for why I pushed you out of the car, I knew that he was going to kill you no matter what I did, so…I tried doing it so you could easily survive the tumbling, just like how I did just now."

"Wait a minute," Lucy and Speed's eyes were wide with shock. Lucy tried to clarify something: "you mean, you just _jumped_ out of the car right now?"

"I wouldn't do it to you if I wasn't willing to do it myself," Mariana smiled ruefully. "It's kind of painful, but I'm not strong enough to make you roll off the cliff or anything."

"So…why would you do that, again?" Speed asked, scratching his head in confusion.

"Well, Handles is a lot stronger than I am, and so if he'd done it, Lucy would have—"

"No, no, I mean why would you go through all this trouble to help if you could just work for this Shadow Committee?"

"Because I'd rather die than join their cause." She said, truthfully. "I'll explain more later on, but for now I just want your trust on this. Please?" She looked at him imploringly, making the best sad damsel eyes she could. After a moment, Speed sighed and went back to his usual happy, friendly self.

"Alright, I guess I could believe you this time. It could be nice to have a double agent around. You should meet my dad: he's undercover right now!"

"Yeah…" Lucy put a hand on his arm, "maybe we should keep it down about that. You never know who could be listening."

"That's what I think, too." Mariana piped in her opinion.

"Fine, if you guys are so worried."

Just then, they heard Chim-Chim chirping inside the Shooting Star (X's car).

"Hey, guys," X called from inside it, "enough with the talking. Get over here!"

 _Did they catch him?_ Mariana wondered.

 _ **~~We do not own Speed Racer: the Next Generation.~~**_


	24. Never a Loose End

24\. Never a Loose End

What happened afterwards went quickly for Mariana and her friends. They caught Handles, and his failure upset the Committee so much that at the dance, the trouble-making twins Jesse and Jared reported to her that he was now on the Shadow Committee's hit list. She proceeded to give some useless but impressive-sounding information on her progress, and came clean to Speed Sr. and the others the following day.

With Connor now believing she was a robot, she helped them infiltrate Committee headquarters and retrieve the hourglass; however, the ensuing battle costed Speed Sr. his life, and the group of teenagers wished they could have prevented the tragedy.

Pitying them, Mariana, Talitha, and Alexandra told everything: that although difficult to believe, they were from an alternate dimension and knew how to fix everything. After a bit of convincing and a great deal of shock, Speed Jr., X, Annalise, Lucy, Connor, and Chim-Chim agreed it was at least worth a shot to go back in time to the "incident" which led to the Shadow Committee's creation.

Only so many could be crammed into the Mach 6, so Mariana volunteered to stay behind while Alexandra squeezed into the car with them and Talitha.

"Don't forget to stop Zile Zazich from turning evil, too" Mariana warned Alex, who turned to her with an excited smile. "Seriously, _do not forget_." The Blackwell sisters were awesome friends, and they always responded to the call of duty…but Talitha's memory wasn't the best, and such traits tended to run in families.

"Of course not! Hey, did you guys hear that?" Alex turned to the others, who were trying to get seated comfortably.

"What?" everyone except Talitha replied in unison.

"Don't worry, I got it!" Talitha contorted to give a 'thumbs up' signal. Alex met Mariana's eyes and waved reassuringly.

" _I've_ got it." She whispered.

"Phew! Thank goodness! Now…" here Mariana smiled. This was a fun moment, no matter what the reason. "Enjoy your time-traveling, _Doctor_!"

"You don't have to tell me twice!"

Speed made certain everyone was ready, and the Mach 6 disappeared in a lighting show befitting a corny television program.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~TIME SKIP~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mariana wandered around her dorm for a bit, looking for something to do. She read a bit, twirled, and wandered aimlessly as she did sometimes—a habit she picked up from her brothers and a highly active imagination. Talitha and Alexandra burst into the room and hugged her.

"We did it!" Talitha exclaimed.

"What?" she asked, looking between the two like they were crazier than usual. She was sorely confused when they furrowed their brows, but her mind just had a gap in it.

"You know, that _thing_ we were doing!"

"Wait a minute, is it that special time-travel ability only us Racer friends know about? Oh!" Mariana's knowledge of the series came back to her like the flip of a switch. "You saved Speed's mom and dad!"

"And their grandpa." Alex added.

"In that case," Mariana said, "I'll help you two get ready for the anniversary party they're having tonight. I can't believe I fell into the whole 'zero recollection' mindset here!" she shuddered a bit. What if that happened again? _Nah—these events and such are an experience. Nothing too huge, so don't fear it,_ she assured herself.

That night, at the anniversary party Speed Sr. and Trixie Racer were hosting, Mariana was about to ask what became of Zile Zazich in their time-travel mission when the trio—and everyone else in the house—heard a voice which stopped dancing Spritle in his jollity.

"Heeeeeerrrrrrre's Johnny!" a very buff Rex Racer with long grey hair (and mountain-man beard to match) clutched a very stern-faced Speed Sr. (now owner of what would have been the Shadow Committee, had Speed and his gang not acted) while raving about metal men attacking the world.

Looking to her left and right, she saw Talitha trying not to laugh and Alex trying not to stare. When Mariana spoke, she whispered like a mother interrogating her toddler about a cookie's whereabouts.

"Talitha, Alex…did you forget something…about Zile?"

"Oops…" they said in unison, but not as sorrily as they should have. Mariana rolled her eyes, until she felt a burning sensation.

"Hide." She didn't want Speed to have to explain anything of inter-dimensional natures to his family. Brown, blue, and grey eyes all went wide when they realized what was happening, but they were all frozen in place. Luckily, everyone was too attentive to the recent disturbance to notice the three teenagers being ripped out of their world…and hopefully into another. There was only one person aware enough to take note…but even then, he was a little bit late.

"Guys!" The last thing they saw was a very worried-looking Speed reaching towards them.

 _ **~~I, Jonquil Gemstone, apologize if this is too abrupt an ending for this arc in the story. We were getting frustrated at the gaps in memory, so now we can start fresh with the next chapter! Rest assured, the story WILL get better. We might even go back and revise/rewrite some of it. I kept the details to a minimum, just in case if anyone wants to watch/rewatch the series sometime.~~**_

 _ **~~For the last time, WE DO NOT OWN SPEED RACER: THE NEXT GENERATION (*sob* Goodbye, Speed and friends. We'll never forget you. *sob, sob*)!~~**_


	25. Doctor Who?

_**~~Editor-in-Chief: Jonquil Gemstone. Universal Consultant (expert on this universe): AlphonseLover13.~~**_

 _ **~~We're restarting the numbering, since this is a new story arc. Enjoy!~~**_

Doctor...Who?

When Alex landed she felt a sharp pain in her head. Once again, she felt sick. However, that faded within a few minutes. She rubbed the back of her head and felt… was that rice?

"What the hell?!" Alex heard a British voice exclaim.

"Now that's interesting." another British voice said.

Alex froze. No, it couldn't be.

She slowly raised her head, which she was still rubbing, and saw none other than Martha Jones and the Doctor looking at her.

Outside, she looked calm, but on the inside she was screaming. She quickly sat up, eyes wide. That, however, made her head hurt worse. She looked around and saw that she landed on a table filled with Chinese food. Well, that explained the rice.

Alex looked at the duo. "Sorry, was I interrupting something?"

The Doctor smiled, "No, not at all."

Martha, however, still looked shocked by Alex's sudden appearance. "Doctor, who is she?"

"I have no idea." he responded, eating some shrimp Lo Mein. "Who are you exactly?" he asked with his mouth full of noodles.

Alex was about to reply when she noticed something. Where were Talitha and Mariana?! Instead of responding she jumped off the table and ran out, yelling out their names, making Martha and the Doctor follow.

"TALITHA! MARIANA! WHERE ARE YOU GUYS?!"

Alex was freaking out. How would she communicate with her favorite Doctor and third favorite companion (number two was Rory and number one was Donna. She is so sassy!)? If she tried to talk, she would end up screaming and fangirling.

"Talitha and Mariana? Who are they?" Martha asked.

"My sister and my friend. They should be here." Alex was able to reply.

"Just stay calm," the Doctor replied. "I'm sure they will show up. Now," his voice grew serious, making Alex nervous. "Just who are you? Those clothes you are wearing seem a little too modern for 1969. Also, I'm pretty sure people don't just appear out of thin air. Unless you were sent here by a Weeping Angel."

Oh, so this is when they were sent back to 1969 by Weeping Angels. Makes sense. Wait, the Doctor found out something was up. Alex was screwed. Should she tell them the truth? She wasn't sure if she should. Would they even believe her? Well, he is the Doctor, he might be able to help… help with the bracelets! Of course! He might know how to send them back to their own world.

Alex took a deep breath and looked at the Doctor. "If I tell you, you have to promise to help me."

The Doctor's face softened at her tone. "Of course, just tell me what I need to know."

Martha, Alex and the Doctor were all sitting at the table once again, the Doctor and Martha awaiting Alex's story.

Alex once again took a deep breath. "It all started when I woke my sister up for school…"

Alex told them everything. Well, almost everything. She was still not sure if she should tell them she was from a different dimension as well as time. In the end, she decided she should, since that way the Doctor could help them get back into their own world and not just time.

"That's not possible. Let me see the bracelet." the Doctor told Alex, after her story was told. She complied and put up her left arm to be inspected.

"Can you take it off?" Martha asked.

"No. I tried, but it just stays on." Alex replied as the Doctor took a silver cylinder from his pocket. Alex's eyes widened. The sonic screwdriver! He scanned the bracelet with a focused expression.

Once he was done, his expression changed to one of confusion. "I can't get a reading."

Alex's hopes, dreams, and expectations were shattered. If the Doctor couldn't find out anything about it, who would?

"Well, I guess that just means that you will have to stay here until I figure it out."

Alex looked up at the Doctor's statement. "Really? You wouldn't mind?"

"Not at all. How about you, Martha?"

Martha smiled. "The more the merrier."

Alex smiled. "Thank you so much! My name's Alexandra by the way, but you can call me Alex."

"I'm Martha and this is the Doctor." Martha introduced.

"Doctor who?" Alex couldn't help herself.

The Doctor smiled. "Just the Doctor. Now, someone from the future named Sally Sparrow gave us a folder. We just got here and haven't looked in it yet. Want to look in it and see if it mentions your sister and friend?"

Alex nodded, excited to see her favorite TV show come to life. Dustin would have been so jealous. "Oh, wait," Alex said gaining their attention once again. "In my world, you guys are a TV show. A work of fiction." 

"Really?" Martha asked with wide eyes. "What's it about?"

"Well, the show itself is called _Doctor Who_ and is about the Doctor and his travels through time and space."

The Doctor, himself, meanwhile, was quiet. If his life was a TV show that meant Alex knew about his past and possibly his future. The Doctor decided to test her to see if what she was saying was true.

"Do you know what I am?" he asked, surprising Martha and Alex.

Alex regained her composure. "You're the Doctor, a Time-Lord and the last one at that."

"What does TARDIS stand for?"

"Time and relative dimension in space."

The Doctor and Martha's eyes widened at that. Only someone who had met the Doctor would have known that.

"Okay, last question. How far into my future is this show? How far into my past is revealed" 

"Keeping it vague, in the current series you are on your twelfth body. Your past is not known that well. The show starts with you taking the TARDIS in your first body, so the academy is not mentioned much. I know that you may not trust me, but I thought you should know. If I didn't tell you, I would just say something to make you suspicious of me and ruin things more than I have already" Alex tried to defend herself. "I will not tell you anything about you guys' personal future, I promise. Please, just help me get back home."

At that moment, the Doctor knew what he had to do. Study the bracelet and get this innocent girl who was dragged into this, along with her sister and friend, back home to her family and friends.

"Although," Alex continued, breaking the Doctor from his thoughts. "It is really cool to see you guys in person. I have some questions about who played Barty Crouch Jr. in this world for Harry Potter because the actor who did it in my world was the same actor who played the Tenth Doctor."

 **Doctor Who! My home territory! I can write even better now!**

 _ **~~I, J. Gemstone, apologize for the vacation, but...Holy Week! Before that, some of us *cough cough* were granted temporary leave. Jonquil Gemstone, Venus Luxia, and AlphonseLover13 proudly present...THE DOCTOR WHO ARC!~~**_

 _ **~~ABOUT THE SHOW: This one is more famous, and rather weird at times. Alex explained it in this very chapter. Thank you, AL13!~~**_


	26. In a Relative Dimension

2\. In a Relative Dimension

Mariana felt stiff again, though not as much as on her first trip. _I could get used to this_ , she considered. A lifetime of adventures through alternate dimensions...there were worse fates out there. Gazing around, she noticed a large place with a complicated-looking console in the center of the main room. _Could this be…?_

"Hello? Is this the TARDIS?" Mariana heard a humming sound from the living time/space travel...machine? Vehicle? In any case, the Doctor was nowhere in sight, so maybe she was alone in the TARDIS. "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you. I am Mariana. Mariana Talon." Mariana did wish she could shake hands with her unexpected hostess, but that was out of the question.

A pleasant sounding whir.

"I have a question...could you please scan this bracelet I'm wearing? I suspect it has inter-dimensional travel capabilities, but I can neither take it off nor even control it!"

A brief pause, then some sort of empty terminal lit up on the main console. Mariana smiled with relief.

"Thank you so very much!" she moved to the terminal, extending her right hand, "So, do put my wrist in there? I cannot take it off, it seems."

An affirmative whir.

"Thank you," Mariana thanked her again and placed her wrist inside the console. The TARDIS activated a scanner of some sort, and Mariana noticed a screen nearby.

No readings so far. Mariana pressed her lips together. What if it _wasn't_ the cause? No, it had to be the bracelet. What if it was turned off, or in some way undetectable? It might have activated only during travel.

"Could it be on the same frequencies as my body or something of that sort?" she whispered quietly.

Apparently hearing her, the TARDIS must have done something, for readings suddenly showed up.

"The patterns are always in parallel waves," the girl noticed. "Does that mean something?"

A contemplative hum from the TARDIS.

"This could be a breakthrough. What are those-?" Suddenly, she felt electricity travelling all the way up her arm and throughout her body, bringing her to her knees. Her wrist stayed in the terminal, but the pain was increasing. Without warning, the TARDIS halted the scan.

After laying on the ground for a good long time, Mariana Talon looked at the screen. The readings showed electricity in constantly increasing levels of voltage until the scan was cut off. Looking back through the data, Mariana saw some minor readings she didn't notice before. She thought those didn't matter, but it appeared to be a buildup of charge, right from the start of the scanning process. It was like it detected when it was being examined, built up an electrical charge from it, and released it.

Was this some sort of predetermined protocol, or was it monitored and controlled, like an automatic versus remote-controlled shock collar for naughty pets?

"Thank you for everything, TARDIS," Mariana was grateful not only for scanning it in the first place, but for knowing when to stop the scan before she got seriously injured. "May I please wait in here for the Doctor? I would like to consult with him on this device and how to control it."

The TARDIS hummed in affirmative, and Mariana tried to stand up, only to wobble on her legs and crumble again. The rest of her felt fine, but her right arm was out of order for the moment, and the shock left her legs in the infamous "jello" condition.

After dragging herself to some railing to lean against like the back of a chair, she sighed and fidgeted for a while, gazing around curiously. She felt better, but there was little she could do.

"Forgive me for not making conversation," she politely excused herself to the TARDIS, "but I'm afraid I simply don't know what to talk about. Is there anything I could help you with? You were so kind to me, after all."

The TARDIS considered for a second before answering in the negative.

"Oh, I see. Very well, then, but if there is anything at all, let me know." Mariana was a little dismayed. She wanted something to do! She wanted to ask if she could explore-according to Alexandra, the TARDIS had infinite rooms and could rearrange them as she saw fit. That sounded amazing! Sadly, Mariana was reluctant to be rude. What if the TARDIS didn't like strangers snooping around inside her?

As if reading her mind, the TARDIS lit a hallway with lots of interesting doors.

"Oh, may I?" Mariana asked, beaming and folding her hands as a supplicant.

An encouraging whir! Mariana practically leapt to her feet and headed smiling down the hallway.

 _I wonder what's in there!_

 _ **~~Wee, TARDIS exploration! I have a feeling this arc will be fun. Now, where's Talitha?~~**_

 _ **~~We do not own Doctor Who (though I'm sure AL13 wishes she did).~~**_

 **AL13: I do, I do so much**


	27. Timey-Wimey Stuff?

3\. Timey-Wimey Stuff?

Talitha moaned as she landed harshly on her feet. Once she regained her senses, she looked around and noticed she was in the back room of a store. She saw streamers and CDs all over the place. It looked normal. Talitha gained hope. _Maybe, just maybe, we are back in our dimension. We must have been split up again._ Talitha groaned; who knew what Alex could be up to without Mariana or herself there to look after her? Turning around she noticed two people were in the room with her. One was a young woman with blonde hair, and the other was a young man with dirty blonde hair as well. They were looking at her with shock. In the background a TV was playing.

"Hello," Talitha said, waving to the two.

"How did you-" the woman said, unable to finish her sentence, while the man just stared.

"Yeah, that is a long story. I'm Talitha. What're your names?"

"My name Sally Sparrow and this is Larry Nightingale." the woman, Sally, replied. "Where did you come from?"

Talitha was about to reply until she heard a familiar voice come through the TV.

" _Talitha_ ," Alex said, her tone sounding very serious.

Talitha looked around and saw her sister on the TV in the room next to a man with spiky brown hair and a suit on as well as glasses. She ran up to the TV, Sally and Larry coming up behind her.

"Alex!" Talitha exclaimed, wondering what she was doing on the TV.

"What? you know her?!" Larry exclaimed, fascinated and surprised.

"She's my sister." Talitha replied.

" _Talitha, I'm so sorry._ " Alex continued. " _I wish I was in your spot instead, because you are in serious danger._ "

Larry paused the screen. "Yeah, the pause thing keeps slipping. Stupid thing." 

"Who are they?" Sally asked. "I mean who is the man, since the girl is apparently Talitha's sister. But, last night at Kathy's, you had them on all those screens. Those same people. Talking about, I don't know, blinking or something."

"Yeah, the bit about the blinking's great. I was just checking to see if they were all the same, before Talitha appeared out of nowhere. Are you going to explain that?" he asked the girl.

Talitha bit her lip. "It's not important, what is important is that you were checking to see if they were the same. Why would you do that?"

"Yeah," Sally agreed. "What were the same? What is this? Who is he? What are they doing?"

"An Easter egg."

"What?" Talitha asked.

"Like a DVD extra, yeah? You know how on DVDs they put extras on, documentaries and stuff? Well, sometimes they put on hidden ones, and they call them Easter eggs. You have to go looking for them. Follow a bunch of clues on the menu screen."

" _Complicated._ " the man next to Alex said. Larry paused the clip yet again.

"Sorry. It's interesting, actually. They are on seventeen different DVDs. There are seventeen totally unrelated DVDs, all with those two on. Always hidden away, always a secret. Not even the publishers know how they got there. I've talked to the manufacturers, right? They don't even know. They both are like a ghost DVD extra. They just show up where they're not supposed to be. But only on those. Those seventeen." Larry explained.

 _Showing up where they're not supposed to be? Sounds like Alex alright,_ Talitha thought.

"Well, what do they do?" Sally asked, interested for some reason Talitha did not know.

"Just sit there, making random remarks. It's like we're hearing half a conversation. Me and the guys are always trying to work out the other half."

"When you say you and the guys, you mean the internet, don't you?" Sally asked, smirking.

Larry looked at her, confused. "How'd you know?"

"Spooky, isn't it?" Sally said as Talitha laughed lightly while Larry played the clip again.

" _Very complicated._ " Alex said.

"Laurence? Need you." Someone called from the front.

"Excuse me a sec." Larry said, going to the front.

Alex then spoke again. " _People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint, it's more like a big ball of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey stuff..._ " She rubbed that back of her neck at the end, trailing off slightly.

"Started well, that sentence." Sally observed, smiling slightly at Alex.

" _I've always wanted to say it, but it did get away from me, yeah._ "

Talitha and Sally froze. Did Alex just respond?

"Alex? Can you hear us?" Talitha asked.

" _I can hear you Talitha, we have sibling telepathy_." Alex responded smiling.

Sally paused the screen, much to Talitha's displeasure, just as Larry walked back in. "Okay, that's enough. I've had enough now. I've had a long day and I've had bloody enough! Sorry. Bad day."

"Got you the list." Larry says, handing Sally a piece of paper.

"What?" Sally responded.

"The seventeen DVDs. I thought you might be interested."

"Yeah, great. Thanks. Talitha, you need to come with me. If you know the girl on the TV you can help me. Please."

Talitha nodded, leaving with Sally with more questions than answers. The man on the TV also looked familiar to her, but why? Why was Alex there? Could she really hear Sally and them? Were they back in their universe or not?

 _What did I just get myself into?_

 _ **~~Deadlines: So deadly, we have to go through penance like this in order to be resurrected…all without owning Doctor Who.~~**_


	28. Working Tirelessly

4\. Working Tirelessly

Mariana wandered the halls of the T.A.R.D.I.S., exploring her various rooms. Suddenly, she stopped in her tracks and gazed in wonder, hands over heart.

"A library!" she exclaimed. "You honestly _do_ have everything, Tardis!" The living machine whirred.

 _Yes, I do,_ she seemed to say. Mariana had been developing an understanding between herself and the T.A.R.D.I.S. At first it seemed downright weird to be inside a living thing, especially because it—she—seemed so…mechanical.

"Mind if I take a bit of a detour to look at what you have inside it?" Mariana felt an affirmative thrum. After getting to know the T.A.R.D.I.S. she felt an actual friendship forming, and suddenly she found herself forgetting she was inside a machine. She perused the historical selection first, then—realizing it was quite endless—decided to see what sort of entertainment was in this extraordinary library. "Is there a fiction section, as well?"

Feeling subtle vibrations under her feet, Mariana followed Tardis's lead to an equally large section filled with many varieties of literature, arranged by literary age! Nearby, she saw with pleasure a poetry section.

"I would love to stay and read all this…"Mariana breathed as she ran her fingers over the spines, tracing the titles as if they were magical runes to open portals to new realms of reality itself. "but, I'm sad to say, I can't." she spoke half to herself.

 _Why not?_ Tardis hummed inquisitively.

"Not because I wouldn't love to, but because I have too many places to go, people to help, things to take care of." Mariana felt the invitation in her heart, but as she kept speaking her heart's resolve hardened, stronger than before. She stared at a copy of the book she had reached: _The Odyssey_ by Homer. "I can't stay here forever. I can't be spending my entire life in a corner, _reading_ without sharing what I learn with everyone else!" she realized her voice had risen in volume as she got impassioned, and sighed. "How could people ever do such a thing…and claim to know what they're talking about without having experienced anything or any _one_? In any case…" she smiled. "Shall we continue now?"

 _ **~~I like this arc so far! Do you? Let us know in the review section!~~**_

 _ **~~A special thanks to Master Shorty 11, whose reviews leave all three of us smiling when we read them!~~**_

 _ **~~We do not own Doctor Who…my oddities are not nearly so hectic as this timey-wimey-stuff involved (Whovians out there know exactly what I mean). Hm, maybe AL13 and Luxia could pull it off…~~**_


	29. He Thought He Fixed It

5\. He Thought He Fixed It

Alex would've been lying if she said she wasn't having fun. Martha had to work, leaving her alone with the Doctor, who was working on his Timey-Wimey Detector. Even though she was learning a lot with the Doctor-he was telling her how each part worked and how it all fit together-she couldn't help but wonder about Talitha and Mariana.

When they looked through the notes given to them by Sally, she found that Talitha was with them. Alex was glad to know where she was. Mariana was never mentioned in the notes, so Alex was still worried about her. However, Talitha was in serious danger. If she was with Sally, that meant she would come face-to-face with a Weeping Angel, a creature Talitha herself thought was the scariest enemy in the series.

Alex was pulled from her thoughts when an explosion sounded from the kitchen. She quickly went to the source and saw the Doctor with...were those eggs? _Huh,_ Alex thought. _I guess his device_ can _make eggs explode. He is never going near a hen with that thing._

"Everything okay, Doc?" she asked, smirking only a little.

"No, no, it's fine," the Doctor said, fanning some smoke away. (Where did it even come from?) "Just a little bug, I'll have it fixed in a jiffy."

"Right," Alex said, elongating the word. "Is this like when you said that you would fix the toaster in a 'jiffy'?"

"I fixed it, didn't I?"

"Yes, but now it only has one setting. Burn or blow up."

The Doctor scrunched up his face. "So that smell this morning…"

Alex nodded. "That was me trying to make toast for me and Martha, before she had to head to work, using the toaster you fixed."

This was going to be a long day.

 **-Time Skip-**

Alex and the Doctor we walking home. Alex had her arms crossed across her chest. The Doctor was hanging his head, much like a child in trouble.

"I _specifically_ told you not to go near any hens!" Alex scolded. "And what do you do? Go near a freaking farm!"

"I thought I fixed it." the Doctor defended, looking at the machine intently.

"Apparently not!" Alex sighed. _Well, whatever. Might as well break the tension,_ Alex thought. "That old man was really fast. It took us forever to get away from him."

"I thought he was going to have a heart attack." the Doctor agreed smiling.

"He would've still gone after us."

They looked at each other and busted out laughing. After they calmed down, Alex looked to the ground.

"You okay, Alex?" the Doctor asked.

"Yeah, I'm just… worried about my friend. I know where my sister is, but not her. I hope she is okay."

The Doctor put a hand on her shoulder in comfort. "Don't worry, I'm sure everything will work out."

"Thanks, Doctor."

Don't worry Mariana, Talitha. It could be worse.

 _ **~~THIS IS A BOOT CAMP! WHO MISSED THE-oh, wait...that was my bad? Oops...~~**_

 _ **~~Yes, AlphonseLover13 did finish in time...I, however, did not upload yesterday...I'll go crawl into a hole and not come out until next Friday.~~**_

 _ **~~We do not own Doctor Who-especially not this chicken-killer!~~**_


	30. Swimming in Curiosity

6\. Swimming in Curiosity

Mariana continued playing around inside the TARDIS for another several minutes, checking every nook and cranny for adventures. Eventually she smelled chlorine in the air.

"No way" she said. "Tardis, is there honestly a _pool_ somewhere nearby?" Mariana enjoyed playing around in water.

An encouraging thrum underneath her feet signaled "Yes, now go try it."

The teenage girl accepted her new friend's invitation and jogged down the hallway. Turning a corner, she saw beautiful, sparkling water. "How incredible," she breathed. "If only I had a swimsuit with me. I would enjoy swimming in there!" She beamed around at the TARDIS, letting her know how amazing the sight of such a large pool was to her.

Out of the corner of her eye, Miss Talon spied a very large walk-in closet nearby. She pursed her lips contemplatively. "If I recall from the show," Mariana placed her right index finger along her cheek, resting her chin between her thumb and middle finger, "you have just about every clothing type imaginable inside your closets. Am I correct?"

An affirmative hum. "Go on," she seemed to say. Mariana told Tardis everything about how she met a strange boy named Jason who sent her and her friends on a wild misadventure through reality. Hopefully, Talitha and Alexandra were okay, but Mariana was warned by Tardis not to go outside her walls for any reason…so what was the point of worrying too much? She just kept a constant prayer for their safety in her mind and waited for them to come.

"So…do you mind if we play dress-up?" she proposed their next activity.

The lights in the walk-in closet turned on, and Tardis let her into…

The Doctor's closet. Mariana gasped. "Where are the suits?" she immediately asked. _Want. To find. Suits! I want to find suits._ She corrected her mental grammar, then proceeded to revise her inner statements for elegance as she moved in the indicated direction. _I wish to find suits…I would very much enjoy finding the Doctor's suits…No, far too wordy…I wish to find suits…I would like to find suits!_

 _ **~~How do you like my new profile image? Up next: we find out how Talitha Blackwell is faring!~~**_

 _ **~~Do you know the Doctor? Doctor Who? Sorry, I don't own that TV show! Neither do AL13 or Venus Luxia.~~**_


	31. NEWS

**NEWS**

 **PLEASE READ**

 _ **~~From now on, there will be a couple of slight changes to our Adventures of R.E.S.: A Trip Through Reality updating schedule.~~**_

 _ **~~FIRST: From here on out, new chapter updates will be posted on SATURDAYS rather than FRIDAYS.~~**_

 _ **~~SECOND: Henceforth, college semesters for two of our three co-authors will result in new chapter updates slowing to a biweekly pace.~~**_

 _ **~~I am sorry if these changes upset anyone, but our content is meant to be good, and we can't make it enjoyable for you companions if we're simply churning out chapters at an inconvenient time for us. So sit tight, and we'll be sure to make it worth your while!~~**_

Mariana managed to find the tenth Doctor's iconic suits, and she grabbed a tie and a tan overcoat before checking the rest of his attire and dashing out of his closet. With Tardis's help, the teenager made her way to a girls' closet and found pieces of clothing similar to the missing parts.

Putting on a white shirt and brown pinstripe jacket with matching trousers, she managed to make the tie look presentable. After a bit of thought, however, she decided it was too easy to get choked by wearing it, so she rummaged around the Doctor's closet _again_ until she found a bunch of rarely used clip-on ties!

"Perfect!" she exclaimed, holding one up triumphantly. "Now, to make my way back to the other closet…" she began talking to thin air, thus establishing her craziness as fully surfaced. Realizing completely what she was doing, she shrugged and smiled apologetically at Tardis. "I'm sorry about that crazy-talk, Tardis. I'm just rather eccentric at times. Surely, by what I've heard of the Doctor, you don't mind, do you?"

 _Not at all_ , the TARDIS chirped amicably, as if Mariana had just asked if she minded being served her favorite tea at all.

Looking at herself in a floorlength mirror, Miss Talon's lips curved into a satisfied smile as she lifted her chin. The makeover was nearly complete! Tying her hair back into a ponytail, she left her side bangs as they were and decided to just wait for the shorter front strands to fall out over time. The earrings she'd had on since the day Jason kidnapped them (it was an efficient label, at least) gave the perfect feminine touch. Pulling on a pair of professional-looking yet fashionable glasses, she scrutinized herself. The "Doctor Who" universe was bound to be a dangerous place, in more unique and unpredictable ways than Racer Academy ever was. Thinking a bit, she put a broad, flat belt in-between her new white shirt and the pinstripe jacket.

 _With that in mind,_ Mariana glanced at her rosary bracelet, _I ought to pray for them. Their safety…_ Indeed, as soon as she was done there, she was determined to watch the monitors for them until they returned.

Fixing her collar, Mariana straightened her outfit and nodded. "What do you think, Tardis?" she asked in fluent…English. "I look rather nice as the Doctor…except…" she smiled deviously and placed her index finger along her cheek, cradling her chin inside her thumb and middle finger while her elbow rested along the back of her left hand, "I'm not exactly 'Doctor' material, am I?"

The TARDIS whistled in anticipation.

 _ **~~We do not own Doctor Who…and you're about to find out why.~~**_


	32. Another Warning

8\. When "Angels" Give Warning

Talitha was looking at Sally like she was crazy. The woman in question was trying to explain to the police what was going on. She doubted that it could be done. Not only that, but they were both soaking wet.

Talitha sighed, looking out the window to a building with stone angels on it. She blinked and they were gone. Talitha looked around and saw Sally beside her.

"Did you see that?" Sally asked.

Talitha could only nod. Suddenly a man came out and Sally went over to him. Everything went as a blur to Talitha, too many thoughts going through her head about those statues. Something was familiar about them.

She found herself coming back to the real world in a basement of some kind, looking at a police box.

"Someone's idea of a joke I suppose." Talitha heard the man say.

"What's a police box doing here?" Talitha asked.

"Oh, so she speaks!" The man joked. "But yeah, it's a phone booth for policemen. They used to have them all over, but this isn't a real one. The phone is just a dummy and the windows are the wrong size. Can't even get in it. Nothing fits, but that is not the big question. See, you are missing the big question."

"What's the big question?" Sally asked.

"Will you have a drink with me?"

"And that's when I leave." Talitha interrupted. "See you out the door, Sally."

Sally and Talitha walked on the side of the road. Talitha's mind was racing. Why was her sister on the video with that man… the Doctor? Yeah, that was his name. She was also wondering where Mariana was. They were separated before and found their way together again: maybe they could do it once more.

Sally brought her out of her thoughts. "That was your sister? How did she end up in those videos?"

Talitha shrugged, looking at the list they were given. "What I'm wondering is what all these DVDs have in common. There must be some pattern, but they seem totally different."

"Wait," Sally stopped, pulling a key out of her pocket. "What if this fits?"

Sally ran back.

 _Well,_ Talitha thought, _this is getting interesting!_

 _ **~~This Talitha chapter was brought to you by AL13 and Venus Luxia! Neither of them owns Doctor Who, nor do I (Jonquil Gemstone)!~~**_

 _ **~~Happy Summer!~~**_


	33. Try Not to Blink

2.9 Try Not to Blink

"Hm hm hm-hm-hmm, hm hmm hm hm…" Mariana casually made her way back to the TARDIS's main terminal, humming the tune of _Bratja_ to herself. Upon reaching it, she sighed and clasped her hands together. "Alright, Tardis," she said, "Let's check on the outside right now."

At the press of a button, the monitor came to life. Several angel statues surrounded the TARDIS, and two blonde girls were facing the beautiful things...but they were trembling. Mariana's heart sank. She knew what _those_ were.

"Weeping angels," she breathed. "We have to let those two girls in." Looking more closely, Mariana noticed one of them had a section of hair lighter than the rest on the back of her head. She only knew one person with that feature. "Talitha's there!" Mariana's eyes were the size of dinner plates as she leapt towards the front door. "Tardis, please open up." Her voice trembled, even as she tried to regain her composure.

Tardis gave out a low hum. She was locked.

"It's alright, my friend." Mariana breathed in and out, calming herself as best as she could. The air felt like electricity with the danger afoot. "They must have the key."

Fortunately, this was one episode she watched. The girl's name had something to do with a bird…' _Something_ ' Sparrow? Mariana shook her head.

 _That doesn't matter now. Now, how to be useful?_ "Maybe if I watch through the monitors…? Tardis?"

No response. It appeared the TARDIS was amused.

"Okay, then." Mariana sighed. "Maybe I'll do that and…"she noticed a speaker, "give motivational support!" Her brow tensed. _They'd better not look around when I speak._

 _ **~~Finally, some action! We do not own the Doctor Who universe.~~**_


	34. Fun with Puns (Vol 2)

10\. Fun with Puns, Vol. 2

Alex was lying on the couch, flipping through the channels on the TV. She was so bored! She already stole the Doctor's trenchcoat (she said 'stole', but she just begged to wear it.) That was, until she saw a certain new broadcast.

"Breaking news: A farmer has recently lost a large amount of his hens. The farmer reports that there were feathers everywhere and it seemed like they just disappeared."

Alex looked at the screen before bursting out laughing. Martha came in, hearing her.

"What's happening?" Martha questioned the laughing Alex.

Alex just shook her head and pointed to the screen.

Martha looked and bursted out laughing as well. Alex told her about the hen incident.

"It was aliens I tell you!" The farmer exclaimed. "They are trying to take over the world!"

The two laughed harder, making the man of the hour come in.

"What's wrong?" The Doctor questioned.

Martha and Alex pointed to the TV, still laughing.

The Doctor's face scrunched up in distaste at what he heard.

"It's some kind of plan, the aliens are attacking! They had something to do with the disappearance of my hens! It's because we are going to the moon. They are taking over the world!"

"I don't want to take over the world!" The Doctor argued.

Martha intervened. "Don't worry Doctor, it could've happened to anyone."

"Yeah," Alex agreed. "Anyone with alien technology and the knowledge of how to use it. Anyone else would have gotten the signals scrambled."

The Doctor groaned.

"It won't be over easy, Alex." Martha warned, joining in with the puns.

"Stop it." The Doctor said, annoyed

"This is what you get for not listening to me." Alex replied. "Don't be chicken."

Suddenly, the machine that the Doctor built lit up. The three went quiet. The Doctor went up to the detector and looked at it. He suddenly ran out of the little apartment and went out, leaving Martha and Alex to follow.

Well, wherever we are going, there better not be any hens.

 ** _~~That was odd...it uploaded in code! My brain is absolutely fried after this.~~_**

 _ **~~We do not own the Doctor Who universe, though we do covet the trenchcoat.~~**_


	35. Master Strategy

11\. Master Strategy

"Just don't blink, okay?" Mariana's voice appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. Or at least, it sounded like Mariana's voice...

"Mariana?" Talitha twitched reflexively, but thankfully, she remained facing the horde of Weeping Angels in front her. _Where on Earth is she?_ "Where are you?" she asked aloud. Talitha wanted to ask why she was using a British accent, but what if it was part of another scheme? _Maybe she's undercover again...but from what?_

"I'm inside the T.A.R.D.I.S." Mariana answered nonchalantly. "But the door's locked, so I can't let you in. You do have the keys, don't you?"

"Yeah, and you're taking this pretty well..."

"Oh, I'm terrified on the inside!" Her friend assured her. "But I'm here to pray for you and offer moral support!" She could imagine Mariana giving her a thumbs up, like in a corny anime. "By the way, have you tried any master strategies?"

Talitha winked with one eye, then the other. It took a couple of moments for her to process the question. "What?" Behind her, Sally Sparrow squeaked in terror. "What happened, Sally?"

"Do not look around because you hear my voice" Mariana warned Sally.

"Did you seriously do that, Sally?" Talitha's eyes widened.

"I'm sorry, it was a reflex" Sally explained.

"Just don't forget my master strategy!" Talitha winked her eyes again.

"Perfect!" Mariana laughed over the speakers, probably remembering the time Talitha concocted this perfect plan against Weeping Angel statues.

 _ **~~We do not own Doctor Who, and if we did...the Weeping Angels would be no match for our winking defense ;)! We apologize for the brevity of this chapter.~~**_


	36. AL13 Must Name This

12\. AL13 Must Name This

Alex and Martha ran out after the Doctor, wondering where he was going. Soon, they stopped. Alex looked and saw a young man, who Alex remembered as Billy, looking lost and confused.

"Welcome!" the Doctor greets.

"Where am I?" Billy asked.

"1969. Not bad, as it goes. You've got the moon landing to look forward to."

"Oh, the moon landing's brilliant. We went four times, back when we had transport." Martha looked at the Doctor accusingly.

"Working on it." the Doctor replied.

"How did I get here?" Billy asked.

"The same way these two did." Alex answered. "The touch of an angel. Most likely the same one."

Billy started to get up.

The Doctor pushed him back down. "No, no. No, no, no, don't get up. Time travel without a capsule. Nasty. Catch your breath. Don't go swimming for half an hour."

"I don't...I can't..." Billy tried to say.

"Fascinating race, the Weeping Angels." The Doctor interrupted. "The only psychopaths in the universe to kill you nicely. No mess, no fuss, they just zap you into the past and let you live to death. The rest of your life used up and blown away in the blink of an eye. You die in the past, and in the present they consume the energy of all the days you might have had. All your stolen moments. They're creatures of the abstract. They live off potential energy."

Billy looked confused. "What in God's name are you talking about?"

Alex looked at him with sympathy. "Just nod when he takes a breath."

The Doctor continued his rant. "Tracked you down with this. This is my timey-wimey detector. It goes ding when there's stuff. Also, it can boil an egg at thirty paces, whether you want it to or not, actually, so I've learned to stay away from hens. It's not pretty when they blow."

" I don't understand. Where am I?" Billy asked once again.

"1969, like he says." Martha replied.

"Normally, I'd offer you a lift home, but somebody nicked my motor." The Doctor said. "So I need you to take a message to Sally Sparrow. And I'm sorry, Billy. I am very, very sorry. It's going to take you a while."

Alex looked at Billy, sadness growing in her at his future, and she also mourned the future that he lost

 _ **~~AlphonseLover13 couldn't think of a name for this chapter, and this is a boot camp for writing, so...XP. We'll see what AL13 cooks up for it later. For now…~~**_

 _ **~~...HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY to our readers in the United States of America! We here on are so independent, we don't even own the franchises we write about (hence, we do not own the Doctor Whoverse)!~~**_


	37. Back to Waiting

13\. Back to Waiting

"They left!" Mariana ranted to the T.A.R.D.I.S. using her British accent. "I cannot believe they honestly left- _they had the keys with them!_ Why _on Earth_ would Sally leave running like a panicky young child?" Sally Sparrow was taking the weeping angel attack like a champ until the fear finally got to her. Sparrow ran away in terror, leaving Talitha Blackwell no choice but to follow her. Mariana stopped pacing and tore off her glasses. She pressed the bridge of her nose and exhaled.

Tardis gave her a sympathetic hum.

 _What a ridiculous ending to that part,_ Mariana was frustrated at how salvation was right there for Sally. _I hope they're okay, though._ She had never been a fan of Doctor Who, so she barely remembered the details of this episode. There were some videos, she recalled, and she knew what weeping angels were and how they worked as 'killers'. Other than that, this was all a new experience to her.

"Do you believe they'll be alright, Tardis?" she asked, emotionally deflated.

No answer.

"So, I'll have to wait and see" Mariana started another decade of her rosary. _Really, this is..._ not even her mind had a word for it. _Fine, I'll wait some more._ "Do you mind if I simply wait in this room, Tardis?"

"Tardis was alright with it, so she settled under a terminal and laid around on her back. She felt tired, plain and simple. After a while, she must have dozed off, for she woke up later, and she could have sworn the air was just a little more comfortable. Her lips curved into a little smile.

"Thank you," she breathed, and closed her eyes again after checking a monitor. The last thing she remembered wondering about was whether or not Alexandra was having fun. She was the real Whovian, so hopefully she meets her favorite characters...

 _ **~~We do not own Doctor Who!~~**_


	38. Easter Egg Hunt

14\. Easter Egg Hunt

Talitha was confused. After Sally ran out, she got a call from Billy. When they went to see him at a hospital, he was older. How?

"Billy?" Sally asked, also sounding confused. He was lying on a bed near the end of the room.

"It was raining when we met." Billy said when he saw Sally by the window.

"It's the same rain."

After some time, Billy showed them a picture of the family he had.

"She looks nice." Talitha said, Sally nodding in agreement.

"Her name was Sally," Bill informed them.

"Sally Shipton." Sally said, almost to herself.

"Sally Shipton," Billy said. "I thought of finding you before tonight, but apparently that would've torn a hole in the fabric of space and time, and destroyed two thirds of the universe. Also, I'd lost my hair."

"Two thirds of the universe, where did you get that from?" Sally asked.

"There's a man in 1969. He sent me with a message for you. And a girl sent me with a message for Talitha as well."

"Who?" Talitha and Sally asked.

"The Doctor and Alex."

"What were the messages?" Sally asked.

"For Sally, look at the list. For Talitha, remember your secret technique."

"What does that mean, 'look at the list'?" Sally asked. Talitha already knew what her message meant. So, were they about to meet more of those statues?

"They said that you both would have it by now. A list of seventeen DVDs." Sally took the list out of her pocket. "I didn't stay a policeman back then. Got into publishing. Then video publishing. Then DVDs, of course."

"You put the easter eggs in?"

Bill smiled. "Have you noticed what all seventeen DVDs have in common yet? I suppose it's hard for you, in a way."

"How could the Doctor and Alex even know I had a list? I only just got it."

"I asked them how, but they both said that they couldn't tell me. The Doctor said that you'd understand it, but that I never would."

"Soon as I understand it, I'll come tell you."

"No, gorgeous girl, you can't. There's only tonight. Alex told me all those years ago that we'll only meet again this one time. On the night I die."

Talitha looked shocked. "Alex told you that?"

Billy nodded. "It's kept me going. I'm an old, sick man...but I've had something to look forward to." He looked at Sally, grasping her hand. "Ah, life is long, and you are hot. Oh, look at my hands. They're old man's hands. How did that happen?"

Sally looked at him with sadness. "Oh, Billy. I'll stay. Talitha," Sally threw her phone at her. "Call Larry and tell him the DVDs are all mine."

Talitha nodded in understanding and said goodbye to Billy one more time. Walking out, Talitha was thinking. The show always seemed innocent when her sister tried to explain it, but it was so much darker than she thought if actual people died.

Talitha took a deep breath and phoned Larry.

"Hello," he answered.

"Larry, it's Talitha. Sally figured it out. All the DVDs are hers."

"She only has seventeen DVDs?" Larry asked

"Apparently she does." Talitha said, finding it strange as well. "Sally will text you more information later though, okay?"

"Okay, yeah. See you later, maybe."

With that, Talitha hung up. She stood there, waiting for Sally. She came back when the rain stopped.

Sally texted Larry where to meet them with a portable DVD player. They stopped at Sally's house to pick up the DVDs and went to the house where, according to Sally, it all started. Soon enough Larry got there.

"You live in Scooby-Doo's house." He said.

"For God's sake. I don't live here." Sally argued.

They all went up to find a room to watch the DVDs. Talitha was adamant about no more interruptions and the DVDs were played as soon as the player was ready. The Doctor and Alex appeared on the screen.

"There they are." Larry said as the Doctor put glasses on.

"The Doctor and Alex." Sally said.

"Who's the Doctor?" Larry asked in confusion.

"He's the Doctor." Talitha replied, pointing to said man.

" _Yup. That's me_." the Doctor replied.

"Okay, that was scary." Sally said, Talitha agreeing.

"No, it sounds like they're replying, but he always says that." Larry explained

" _Yes, I do_." the Doctor agreed.

"And that."

This time, Alex replied. " _Yup. And this_."

"They can hear us. Oh, my God."

"Can you really hear us?" Talitha asked.

"Of course they can't hear us." Larry replied. "Look, I've got a transcript. See? Everything they say. Yup, that's me. Yes, I do. Yup, and this. Next it's-"

" _Are you going to read out the whole thing?_ " Larry, the Doctor, and Alex all say at the same time.

"Sorry." Larry said.

"Who are you?" Sally asked.

" _I'm a time traveller. Or I was. I'm stuck in 1969._ " the Doctor replied. " _Alex is a little more complicated than that. But she's stuck with me as well_."

Suddenly, someone else appeared on screen. " _Me too. We're stuck. All of space and time, he promised me. Now I've got a job in a shop. I've got to support him! Alex is not bad though. At least she helps_."

" _Martha_." the Doctor complained, pointing to the camera.

" _Sorry_." Martha said, leaving.

"I've seen this bit before." Sally said.

" _Quite possibly_." the Doctor replied

"1969, that's where you're talking from?" Talitha asked.

" _Yep_." Alex replied.

"But you're replying to us." Sally argued. "You can't know exactly what we're going to say, forty years before we say it."

" _Thirty eight_." the Doctor corrected.

"I'm getting this down. I'm writing in your bits." Larry said, sitting down with Sally and Talitha.

"How? How is this possible? Tell me." Sally asked, neither her nor Talitha paying attention to Larry.

"Not so fast." Larry said, wanting to have enough time to write it down.

" _People don't understand time. It's not what you think it is_." the Doctor said.

"Then what is it?" Talitha asked

" _Talitha, I am so sorry. I wish I was in your spot instead because you are in serious danger_." Alex said.

"What do you mean? What is time?" Talitha asked, growing more worried.

" _Complicated_." Alex replied.

"Alex, tell us." Talitha commanded.

" _Very complicated_."

"We're clever and we're listening. And don't patronise me because people have died, and I'm not happy. Tell me." Sally said.

Alex smiled. " _People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint, it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly, timey-wimey stuff._ "

"Yeah, I've seen this bit before. You said that sentence got away from you." Sally said.

" _I've always wanted to say it, but it did get away from me, yeah._ " Alex replied, like she did in the shop.

Talitha joined in. "The next thing you're going to say is, I can hear you and something about being siblings."

" _I can hear you Talitha, we have sibling telepathy_."

"This isn't possible." Sally said.

"No. It's brilliant!" Larry exclaimed.

" _Well, not hear you, exactly,"_ the Doctor corrected _. "But we know everything you're going to say."_

"Always gives me the shivers, that bit." Larry commented.

"How can you know what we're going to say?" Sally asked

" _Look to your left._ " Alex and the Doctor spoke at the same time. Sally and Talitha look to the left to see Larry writing something on paper.

"What do they mean by look to your left? I've written tons about that on the forums. I think it's a political statement." Larry said, clicking his pen for effect.

"He means you. What are you doing?" Sally asked going over to him.

"I'm writing in your bits. That way I've got a complete transcript of the whole conversation. Wait until this hits the net. This will explode the egg forums." Larry explained.

" _We've got a copy of the finished transcript. It's on our autocue_." the Doctor explained.

"How can you have a copy of the finished transcript? It's still being written." Talitha asked

" _I told you. I'm a time traveller. I got it in the future_."

"Okay, let me get my head round this." Sally said. "You're reading aloud from a transcript of a conversation you're still having."

Alex nodded. " _Yeah. Wibbly wobbly, timey-wimey._ "

"Never mind that. You can do shorthand?" Sally asked Larry.

"So?" Larry asked

" _What matters is, we can communicate._ " the Doctor said, getting everybody back on track. " _We have got big problems now. They have taken the blue box, haven't they? The angels have the phone box._ "

"The angels have the phone box. That's my favourite, I've got it on a t-shirt." Larry commented.

"What do you mean, angels?" Sally asked.

"Do you mean the statues?" Talitha added.

" _Creatures from another world_." the Doctor corrected

"But they're just statues." Sally said, not believing that they were alien.

" _Only when you see them._ "

"What does that mean?" Sally asked.

" _The lonely assassins, they used to be called. No one quite knows where they came from, but they're as old as the universe, or very nearly, and they have survived this long because they have the most perfect defense system ever evolved. They are quantum-locked. They don't exist when they're being observed. The moment they are seen by any other living creature, they freeze into rock. No choice. It's a fact of their biology. In the sight of any living thing, they literally turn to stone. And you can't kill a stone. Of course, a stone can't kill you either. But then you turn your head away, then you blink, and oh yes it can._ "

Sally looked and saw one of the statues.

"Don't take your eyes off that." She commanded Larry and Talitha.

The Doctor continued. " _That's why they cover their eyes. They're not weeping. They can't risk looking at each other. Their greatest asset is their greatest curse. They can never be seen. The loneliest creatures in the universe. And I'm sorry. I am very, very sorry. It's up to you now._ "

"What are we supposed to do?" Sally asked.

" _The blue box, it's my time machine. There is a world of time energy in there they could feast on forever, but the damage they could do could switch off the sun. You have got to send it back to me._ "

"How?!" Talitha asked.

" _That's it,_ " Alex said, looking sad. " _There's no more from you on the transcript, that's the last we've got. The angels are coming for you. But listen, your life could depend on this. Don't blink. Don't even blink. Blink and you're dead. They are fast. Faster than you can believe. Don't turn your back, don't look away, and don't blink. Good luck._ "

The screen froze.

 _ **~~We do not own the weird yet tragic Doctor Whoniverse!~~**_


	39. The End?

15\. The End?

"No, no you can't!" Sally screamed at the frozen screen while Talitha sat there in thought.

"I'll rewind it." Larry said.

"What good would that do?"

Talitha looked up to see them looking at each other. "You guys aren't looking at the angel."

"Neither are you," Larry observed, becoming worried.

All three looked up to see the angel a few feet from them! It was baring its teeth and reaching out to them. They quickly got up and moved away.

"Keep looking at it." Sally instructed. "Keep looking at it!"

"There's just one, right? There's just this one. We're okay if we just keep staring at this one statue."

"There's three more." Sally said, surprising Talitha and Larry.

"Three?!" Larry exclaims.

"They were upstairs before, but I think I heard them moving." Sally explained.

"Moving where?" Talitha asked.

"I'm going to look around. I'm going to come with me. You keep looking at this one, Larry. Don't blink. Remember what she said. Don't even blink."

"Who blinks? I'm too scared to blink." Larry replied.

"Okay, we're going to the door. The front door." Sally spoke as she lead Larry to the exit. "Okay. We all can't get to the front door without taking our eyes off that thing, so you stay here."

"What?"

"I'll be just 'round the corner. You stay here." Sally ran out to check the door. "They've locked it. They've locked us in!"

"Why?" Talitha asked.

"I've got something they want." Sally replied.

"What?" Larry asked, as Talitha was using her secret technique against the angel: only looking with one eye while the other blinked.

"The key. I took it last time I was here. They followed me to get it back. I led them to the blue box. Now they've got that." Sally explained.

"Well, give them the key." Larry said.

"I'm going to check the back door. You wait here." Sally said.

"No," Talitha interrupted, leaving Larry. "I'll go with you just in case. Larry, just do what I was doing"

"Give them the key! Give them what they want!" Larry exclaimed, thinking it would stop them. He tried out Talitha's technique, and it seemed to be working.

"NO!" Talitha yelled. "Then my friend would be in danger. She's in that blue box!"

"Hang on!" Sally yelled.

"Oh, God. Oh, God." Larry said, freaking out.

"It's locked!" Talitha exclaimed.

Larry then made the mistake of looking behind him. When he looked back, the angle was a foot away from him. Its arms were up and its mouth opened.

"Sally! Sally!" Larry screamed, now terrified for his life.

"It won't open!" Sally said, she and Talitha trying every door they could find.

"Sally, please, I can't do this! Sally, hurry up! Where are you?" Larry begged, starting to walk back to the doorway.

"Larry? They've blocked off the back door, but there's a cellar. There might be a way out-a delivery hatch or something." Sally called

"Coming! I can't stay here." He left.

Meanwhile, in the cellar, Talitha and Sally found that the angels had moved the blue box to the cellar. They were crowded around it, covering their eyes.

"Mariana…" Talitha whispered.

"Okay, boys, I know how this works. You can't move so long as I can see you. Whole world in the box, the Doctor says. Hope he's not lying, because I don't see how else we're getting out." Sally said as Larry came behind them and the angel he was watching appeared. "Oh, and there's your one."

The angel was pointing at the only lightbulb in the room. "Why is it pointing at the light?" Talitha asked, not taking her eyes off the angels.

Suddenly, the light started to flicker.

"Oh, my God, it's turning out the lights!" Sally exclaimed, as the light kept flickering on and off.

"Quickly!" Larry yelled as Talitha tried to keep looking at the angels.

"I can't find the lock!"

"Sally, hurry up! Get it open! They're getting closer. Sally, come on!"

"It won't turn!"

"Sally!" Talitha exclaimed.

Sally finally got the door opened and they entered the blue box. They turned to find it bigger on the inside, and Talitha saw Mariana in strange clothes by the console.

"Talitha!" Mariana exclaimed, going over to hug her friend. "I'm so glad you're alright!"

"Mariana," Talitha returned the hug. "What are you wearing?"

"Call me the Editor now." Mariana smirked.

Suddenly, the hologram of the Doctor appeared above them on a platform. " _This is security protocol seven one two. This time capsule has detected the presence of an authorised control disc, valid one journey._ "

Larry took out the DVD and saw that it was glowing.

" _Please insert the disc and prepare for departure._ "

"Looks like a DVD player. There's a slot." Sally told Larry.

Just as he was about to put it in, everything started to shake.

"They're trying to get in." Mariana explained. "The angels have tried this before."

"Well, hurry up, Larry!" Sally exclaimed.

"What's happening?" Larry asked, as the motor started to move.

The blue box started to dematerialise, except it was only taking Mariana and Talitha with it.

"Oh, my God, it's leaving us behind. Doctor, no! You can't! Why can't you take us!"

Then, they were gone.

 **-Line Break-**

Alex sat on the couch flipping through the TV with Martha as the Doctor worked on his device. Alex sighed. After two weeks, you would think the TARDIS would be back by now. Suddenly, Alex heard a familiar noise.

Alex stood up, gaining the Doctor's and Martha's attention. "Do you guys hear that?"

The Doctor's eyes widened. "Finally!"

The TARDIS the materialized, and the door opened to reveal Talitha and Mariana in… was she wearing some of the Doctor's clothes?

"Guys!" Alex yelled going to hug them. All three had a big group hug.

The Doctor and Martha were staring at Mariana. Alex took noticed of this and asked what they were thinking.

"Mariana, why are you wearing that?"

"I am not Mariana-I'm the Editor!"

Alex deadpanned. "Really?" She shook her head. "Anyway, guys. This is _the_ Doctor and Martha Jones. We've been stuck here for about two weeks."

"Two weeks?" Talitha asked. "How are you still intact?"

"I can handle myself!" Alex defended.

"Anyway," the Doctor interrupted, smiling. "Let's get into the TARDIS. I think I have a solution to get you guys back home."

Alex and Talitha went to go clean up and get changed. They both agreed that a shower was in order. While they were out, Martha, Mariana, and the Doctor all heard a dinging noise coming from the screen. On the screen was what looked like a bunch of circles to Mariana, but what the Doctor saw as words in Gallifreyan.

"These look like results from a scan." the Doctor informed them, confused.

"Oh!" Mariana exclaimed. "The TARDIS scanned my braclet earlier, but I got electrocuted. I'm glad she was still able to get a reading."

"Well, according to this there is a way to override the controls and set coordinates. That should be able to send you guys back home."

"Doctor, Martha, thank you for all your help." Mariana said kindly.

"No problem," Martha replied. "I hope you guys can get back home."

"Me too," Talitha's voice suddenly appeared. She and Alex appeared from the hall in their new clothes. Alex was wearing a short sleeve, mint green and light blue ombre shirt with jean short overalls. She also had on lightly colored orange, green, pink, purple, and blue striped converse.

Talitha was wearing a white NASA T-shirt with jeans and regular grey and neon orange athletic shoes. Overall, she looked much more conservative than Alex."Sorry we're late, Alex took a long time picking her outfit."

"And I think it turned out perfect." Alex commented, sticking her tongue out at her sister. Alex then looked down at the floor. Talitha noticed the change in her sister.

"Cheer up Alex, we're going home!" Talitha said, nudging her sister.

Alex sighed. "I know, but… I have always dreamed of being here and now that I am, I don't want to leave." she looked up at the Doctor. "You were always my favorite, by the way. You were the first Doctor I saw on TV and got me to love the show. As everyone says, 'You never forget your first Doctor.'"

The Doctor went to hug Alex. "Thank you, and I will never forget you, Alexandra Blackwell. Now, let me just-"

The Doctor went and hooked up all their bracelets to a device on the console and typed some things in on the screen.

"Okay, you might feel a shock, but it shouldn't be too serious."

Talitha's eyes widened. "Shouldn't?"

"Here you go!" the Doctor said, not answering her concern as he grabbed a hammer from below the console and hit something.

Talitha, Alex, and Mariana all felt a jolt, as if someone pushed them, and they all disappeared. Hopefully, they would return back home.

 _ **~~Did the Doctor's solution work? What did those readings mean? Will the girls ever get home to their own time and dimension? Is the conflict finally resolved (ha, as if)? Stay tuned to find out! Until next time, this is Jonquil Gemstone, collaborating with the talented authors AlphonseLover13 and Venus Luxia!~~**_

 _ **~~We do not own Doctor Who-end of story (or is it?)!~~**_


	40. DE

16\. D.E.

The next thing she knew, Mariana found herself…inside what appeared to be the bowels of a spaceship.

 _Well, darn it,_ she sighed. Some movement in a corner caught her eye. Turning towards it, she saw nothing there but a note on the ground. She picked it up and read it:

I'LL BE WATCHING MORE CLOSELY FROM NOW ON.

-D.E.

 _Well, Doctor,_ Mariana took off the glasses she had taken, _this isn't my home._

 ** _~~We do not own Doctor Who.~~_**


	41. Can He Be More Vague?

17\. Can He Be More Vague?

Alex landed with a thud. Her left wrist felt like it was made of jelly. She groaned and looked up to see none other than Rory Williams and Amelia Pond looking down at her. She looked around and saw that she was in the eleventh Doctor's TARDIS. Half of her was sad, the other was glad that she was still in the Doctor Who universe. Eleven was also Dustin's favorite Doctor. Dustin… Alex never thought how he might feel to find out she just disappeared.

"Are you okay?" Rory asked her, pulling Alex out of her thoughts.

Alex was about to reply when a familiar voice interrupted. "Ponds! Are you ready for an adventure, because the-" He stopped when he noticed Alex, now sitting up, rubbing her wrist. "Alexandra…"

Alex looked at him in surprise. "You remembered?"

She knew that it had to be a long time for him, even though it was not for her. He even regenerated.

He looked at her like she had said something stupid. He went over and helped her up. "Of course. I said I would. Didn't I?"

Alex nodded and looked around. "Talitha, Mariana...Where are they?"

"Well, when we first met I thought that I recognized Talitha, but after you left is when I remembered. She's most likely with nine. As for Mariana, I don't know."

 _Of course._

Amy then cleared her throat. "Hello, confused people over here."

"Ah, yes. Ponds, meet Alexandra Blackwell. A dimension hopper with her sister and friend trying to find her way home." he introduced, wrapping an arm around Alex's shoulder.

Amy and Rory looked at Alex in disbelief. Alex just waved, saying hello. Tilting her head slightly down, she noticed something shiny in the front pocket of her overalls. She looked inside and found a note covered in silver glitter. That was not there before, Alex was sure of that. Alex read it out loud.

"I'll be watching more closely from now on. Signed, D.E.? Who the flip is D.E.?" Alex asked, more to herself than anyone else. Suddenly, the note was ripped from her hands. She looked over and saw that the Doctor took it and was scanning it with the sonic, only for Alex to scream.

Amy, Rory and the Doctor all rushed over as Alex doubled over in pain. She looked to the Doctor. "I was shocked. Don't scan anything that could be connected to why we travel."

The Doctor helped Alex up, and clapped his hands together. "How about we go somewhere, wherever you want? Amy suggested Rio, though it's your choice."

Alex smiled at Amy. "I've never been to Rio before."

Amy smiled and cheered as the Doctor laughed. "Alright, Rio it is."

He pressed a few levers and they were off!

 _ **~~It is I, Jonquil Gemstone, now a zombie! AL13, Luxia, and I went on a bit of a writing vacation to refresh and get a handle on our schedules. Now, we intend to be back in action with our Easter Revival! In honor of Our Lord's Resurrection, we are resurrecting this story!**_

 _ **~~If you have yet to do so, take a peek at AlphonseLover13 and Venus Luxia's other stories, as well as my own creative works.~~**_

 _ **~~That aside, enjoy the ride as Alex, Talitha, and Mariana find themselves more separated than ever! Who is D.E? Why are the girls electrocuted every time the bracelets are scanned? We're reaching the point where some questions might finally be answered! Go ahead-revel in the mystery! Ahahahahaaa….I missed this 3~~**_

 _ **~~Even after all this time, we still haven't bought Doctor Who. A disappointment, I'm sure XD.~~**_


	42. A Half-Dozen Questions

18.A Half-Dozen Questions

Mariana pondered the glittery silver note. She couldn't help but think it was a bit girly to have it covered in silver glitter. Just who was this "D.E."? Dorothy Everheart? Diane Eagles?

 _More importantly,_ she thought, _How closely was D.E. watching before? Does this mean Jason wasn't acting alone, after all?_ The ship started rattling, as if hit by something. _Connect the dots later,_ she told herself. To her panic, she found no place to take cover. A "pew pew pew" sound assaulted her ears while Mariana struggled to keep her balance. The ship was performing evasive acrobatics, and she fell over.

Mariana's head was throbbing when she awoke. Glancing at her surroundings, she found herself in a far more familiar vessel.

"Tardis…" she breathed. _Did I even leave her at all?_ Maybe the Doctor sending her and her friends home was only a dream. She had no clue whether or not to hope for that. "Are my friends okay?"

Before she could get an answer, Mariana heard a woman yelling nearby. She heard scrambling on the metal floor. Promptly twisting around, she caught sight of what appeared to be a female soldier holding a gun up against a tall old gentleman. She demanded he take her to a ship called _Aristotle_.

"No" the Doctor wagged his finger (holding two cups of coffee in his hand, Mariana was sure enough it was him). "Hey, not like that." The woman still held her gun, trembling a bit.

"You will...take me back...to my command ship, which is currently positioned-"

"No, no, come on. Not like that. Get it right!"

 _That is so the Doctor,_ Mariana smiled. She slowly made her way onto her knees, then got up, trying not to make any sound. The female soldier was only yards in front of her, her back turned. If she tried to fire...hopefully Mariana could do something helpful.

"Hello, Mariana," the Doctor greeted her, "nice to see you join the party." The soldier whipped around and moved so she wasn't directly between her two 'enemies', ready to fire at either one of them. "Now," he addressed the woman again, "get it right." He sounded like a parent scolding an ungrateful child. She lowered her gun.

"Will you take me back to my ship…" the Doctor gestured for her to continue. "Please?"

"The Aristotle is the big one trapped in the asteroid field, yeah?" Satisfied, he pulled a lever and piloted the T.A.R.D.I.S.

"It's shielded," she told him. Mariana just kept watching, wondering who the coffee was for. Of course, her hands were shaking from what just happened, but...coffee. Come to think of it, she didn't see a companion anywhere. Maybe it was for whoever joined him?

"More or less," he added. Mariana really wanted to ask about her friends, but it didn't seem like the right time for that. The soldier looked baffled, and she glanced at Mariana with a look that asked what the heck was going on.

Mariana just smiled and said "Hello" with a polite nod. "Might I ask your name?" she kept her sentences concise: she wanted to know before they landed.

"I'm Lieutenant Journey," she answered, still apparently hesitant but opening up. When they landed, TARDIS opened her door to reveal what must have been the inside of the _Aristotle_. Lieutenant Journey gazed out unbelievingly and turned back to the Doctor.

"Dry your eyes, Johnny Blue," the Doctor teased her, "crying's for civilians." He strode by her. "It's how we communicate with you lot." Although it was her command ship they were entering, he led the way out. Mariana, naturally, followed him.

Come to think of it, this was Mariana's first time exiting the safety of the T.A.R.D.I.S.

"It's smaller on the outside," Journey commented.

"Yeah, it's a bit more exciting when you go the other way." Mariana chuckled at the Doctor's response. She smiled at Journey again and touched her shoulder as she passed by. The two of them followed the Doctor, Mariana a bit more confidently-after all, she was already used to how this guy rolled. "This isn't a battleship," he noted. "Medical insignia-it's a hospital."

"We don't need hospitals now-the Daleks don't leave any wounded" a Scottish-sounding man approached from behind. Spinning around to look at him, he appeared the somber type. "And we don't take prisoners."

 _Daleks,_ Mariana tensed. _At war with Daleks._ Weren't they the 'Exterminate! Exterminate!' bot things? Not to mention, the man mentioned not taking prisoners. _Uh-oh,_ her eyes widened. She knew what that meant.

The Doctor knew it, too. He glanced at the armed soldiers on the man's either side.

"I saved your little friend here, if that's relevant to mention."

"It's true, sir. He did." Journey vouched for him.

 _What could I say?_ Mariana thought a mile a minute. _I can't really offer my services, can I? I can't be that useful here..._ hopefully, the Doctor could wriggle their way out of this.

"Thank you" the man showed some gratitude, and the Doctor seemed relieved.

"You're welcome," he said. "I wish I could've done more."

"Then you should have."

Mariana's eyes widened. That was rather ungrateful. Was there someone else the Doctor could've helped?

"Okay…" the Doctor proceeded cautiously.

"But, you did save Journey. And for that, I am personally grateful."

 _And yet…?_ Mariana bit her tongue. She didn't want to make the situation worse by back-talking, but she could sense a catch somewhere.

"However," Yep. There it was. "The security of this base is absolute, so we're still going to kill you."

"Oh, it's a roller coaster with you, isn't it?" Mariana's jaw dropped when the Doctor said that. Did that mean he couldn't think of a way to dissuade this guy?

"Shoot him, bag him, and throw him outside. The one next to him, too." Mariana's heart dropped.

"No! Stop!" Journey pleaded. Mariana looked between her and the man, hoping he might be swayed, after all.

"I'm sorry," he said with what appeared to be sincerity, "he might be a duplicate!"

"What's a duplicate?" Mariana spoke for the first time. Everyone looked at her like she was crazy for a moment, but Journey shook her head and said something else.

"He's a doctor…" the man looked at the Doctor with new interest, "and we have a patient. Don't we, Uncle?" So that was their connection. Uncle and niece. Would he have let anyone else speak in favor of strangers?

"I'll need my assistant with me if you want my help," the Doctor saved Mariana's skin by labeling her his assistant. Otherwise, she knew they would have killed her and spared him.

They were led down the corridors of the _Aristotle_ with Journey and her uncle taking the lead. Armed men were behind them.

"Is there a shortage of doctors?" Mariana asked Journey.

"The _Aristotle_ wasn't always hidden," Journey's uncle explained. "The Daleks got here before us."

 _Clever,_ she thought, _taking out the doctors so their enemies can't heal themselves easily._ She wished she could say it aloud, but these people were understandably the suspicious types. It was agonizing to not speak her mind!

"You don't like soldiers much, do you?" Journey asked them.

"You don't need to be liked: you have all the guns" the Doctor gave his opinion.

"I actually _do_ like soldiers," Mariana admitted, "to be willing to give your life...that requires loyalty and honor."

The soldiers present seemed to like that answer, even as they stood guard. The company halted. It was true, though. She always admired people who could stand for a cause.

"Wow," the Doctor breathed when they approached a machine, "a molecular nano-scaler!" he fanboyed over it like a teen would a cool car, or a geek over an impressive collection.

"You know what it does, then?" Journey asked.

"It miniaturises living matter."

"What's the medical application, though?" Mariana wondered. "Do you use it to shrink surgeons?" It didn't seem like the kind of thing to shrink tumors: it was a capsule big enough for a person, so it probably couldn't zoom in on individual body parts.

"That's what I was wondering!" The Doctor chimed in excitedly.

"Exactly" Journey's uncle answered.

"Fantastic idea for a movie, terrible idea for a **proctologist**."

Mariana covered her mouth, laughing. Good grief, that would be horrible! Hopefully, she and the Doctor wouldn't have to deal with such an unsavory problem.

"Are you gonna miniaturize me?" the way the Doctor lowkey rolled his "r"s made her think of a mad scientist. How fitting. Wait...if he was miniaturized, she would be, too! She didn't like the thought of that.

"You're a doctor, aren't you?" Journey's uncle led them to a door, which opened to reveal-much to their surprize-a Dalek! "And this is your patient." The Doctor stared at the Dalek, dumbfounded. Mariana could see the emotions running through his head.

 _He really dreads this, doesn't he?_ She contemplated. If memory served, the Daleks were responsible for the near-extinction of his race in a war.

"No, you don't understand," the Doctor refused. "You can't put me in _there_."

"Doctor?" the Dalek recognized him! "Are you my doctor?"

As it turned out, the Dalek did not recognize him. It had been promised medical assistance. They had tried to disassemble it without realizing there was a living creature inside it.

"Help me" the Dalek pleaded. The Doctor looked at it with pure revulsion.

"Why should I help you?" the Doctor sneered at it. Mariana gasped. "Why should any living creature help you?"

"Doctor, that's enough." Mariana stepped forth, looking him dead in the eyes when he turned around.

"Do you not realize what this thing is?"

"No matter what this thing did, it was promised medical service. If these people are willing to help it, that stands doubly for me."

"But why? After what his kind did?"

"For mercy's sake, that's why!"

"The Daleks have no mercy."

"All the more reason to exercise it!" The Doctor seemed shocked. His blood was clearly boiling. Mariana dropped her voice to a solemn hiss. "That is the _only thing_ to separate the hero from the villain, the soldier from the murderer."

"Daleks must be destroyed!" the Dalek interrupted. Mariana did a double-take. The Doctor slowly faced it again.

"What was that?" she asked it.

"All Daleks must die. I will destroy the Daleks. Destroy the Daleks!" it swore.

The Doctor left to get some "support". So he _did_ have an assistant.

"He'll be right back," Mariana assured Journey and her uncle. Sure enough, the Doctor immediately returned with another young woman at his side.

"Well, that was quick," Journey noted.

"This is gun girl, she's got a gun and she's a girl," the Doctor introduced Journey to the newcomer. "This is some sort of boss. Are you the same one as before?"

"Yes" Journey's uncle replied.

"I think he's probably her uncle, but I may have made that up to pass the time while we were talking. And this," he struggled to think of what to call Mariana, "is the Dalek sympathizer. This is Clara: not my assistant, she's some other word."

"I'm his carer," she filled in.

"Yes, my carer. She cares so I don't have to."

"A worthy occupation," Mariana smiled as they all walked back to the Dalek's room, "pleasure to meet you, Clara."

They entered the Dalek's room. Apparently, Clara and the Doctor saw this as a "moral Dalek". Mariana wasn't so sure of that...it just changed targets, that's all. It was still acting like a machine, blindly wanting to exterminate a race: it just happened to choose a more beneficial race to kill.

She felt uneasy as they were handed metal bracelets to control the nano-compression. Once the mission was over, they just had to press the button on it. It looked disturbingly similar to the bracelets she, Talitha, and Alexandra wore, except clunkier and controllable.

"By the way, Doctor," Mariana figured now was as good a time as any to ask, "do you happen to know of Talitha and Alex?"

"I met blonde girl before you, and Alex popped up a bit later. I think you were the only one I haven't met twice before today. By the way, they both disappeared randomly, would you know anything about that?"

"No," she answered, "but something must have gone wrong with our devices...Doctor?" something was bothering her too much. "What if this Dalek is only defective because of its injury? Would it revert back to killing _other_ races instead of staying this way?"

"Oh? Whatever happened to 'for mercy's sake?"

"This is different. Should these people risk _Aristotle_ falling?"

"Take it up with them, if it bothers you that much. Allons-Y!

 _ **~~Hm, what will the Doctor do about this little conundrum? Is the Dalek truly against its own kind, or is it just defective? What is the best moral choice here? Will anything happen with this D.E. person? How will Mariana Talon reunite with her friends? Are the inter-dimensional bracelets broken?~~**_

 _ **~~We do not own the Whoverse, but we do own OCs like D.E., Mariana, and the Blackwood sisters.~~**_

 _ **(proctology: the medical branch dealing with a very unpleasant place to go if you're miniaturized)**_

 _ **~~Oh, and yes, Jonquil Gemstone is now back in action! I will post on a monthly basis, albeit in different stories. Currently, I am working to hit a sweet spot for an official update schedule-perhaps a specific day in each month, or rotating stories in a certain order. I will keep you POSTED on how that goes ;). Check out my other stories, as well as Venus Luxia and AlphonseLover13's profiles!~~**_


End file.
